The Khajiit Battlemage
by Cearbhail
Summary: a new enemy has emerged and attacked the battlemages.  Recruits are called in to defend the world as it starts to burn.  How will a fresh Khajiit recruit fare and eventually win the war?  Find out..
1. Ch 1: Flashback

**Cearbhail:**_ _Ok, guys. This is my first of many stories. I hope you enjoy the ride because I plan on making it a long one. Feel free to comment, review, and if you wish to see anything specific happen, LET ME KNOW. Anyway, this is the new revised first chapter. It's longer, better, and covers more story that I wanted to throw in but didn't really know how to explain it just yet. Now... I can. so... there. :P__

__Anyway, I'm going through and fixing some of the more disappointing chapters that I'm unhappy with. so, if you're a veteran reader of this story, feel free to journey back and see what I've changed or don't... it's a lot of chapters... I understand that and it really doesn't change the overall story. Just more character interaction and back story is all.__

__Anyway, ENJOY!__

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><p>I can't believe it finally happened. For the last year, I went from guild hall to guild hall, gathering recommendations from every Mages Guild I could get. I had some of the dumbest things too. "Fetch me this ring… by the way, it's underwater." Or even "I need ingredients for my new potion I'm working on. I'd order them myself but I conveniently need to stay here and watch this fire grow, and you need something to do in order to get a recommendation…by the way, there are trolls guarding it for whatever reasons…"<p>

Bleh! I hate water and I sure hate trolls. Why on Nirn would trolls be guarding nightshade? Why on Nirn would a mage wearing black leather need nightshade anyway? At least my sister had easier and safer assignments. While I got to go fetch nightshade, my sister got to play with a new Illusion spell that would make weapons invisible or undetectable. While I swam underwater, gasping for breath, she was helping an Argonian formulate a new potion for limb attachment. My sister figured out how to attach limbs with a very potent healing brew. She's a genius at Alchemy. She was a lot younger than me, but we were never separated from each other. We were orphans. We had no parents. They were killed in the Imperial City when the giant red titan ripped through our house.

That wasn't the whole story, though. It took more than a falling ceiling to kill a healer and … I'm not sure what she was. She cooked, I know that much. She was the standard housewife. Still, she was Khajiit, born warrior. Once the wall opened up, our father started spraying whatever Destruction he knew at the giant titan. It ignored him, but the waves of Daedra that poured into our house didn't. They charged in and our father held them off while our mother urged us down into the basement. We survived in the crawlspace for a week before we dared to climb out to see what had happened.

I saw the giant statue of the dragon, in the temple my father used to work in. That's when I heard the Hero of Cyrodiil tell us how the titan was killed. It was magic that got rid of that giant. It was not swords, not bows; it was magic. Martin Septim, our just found emperor, used an amulet to transform himself into a towering dragon. From there, he did not only cook it with divine magic, but also bit its head off and gorged on the exploding corpse. I wish I could have seen it for myself. I don't know how he did it, but somehow, without a dagger or bow, Martin Septim killed Mehrunes Dagon.

Now, we're here. The Arcane University: the central point in all of Tamriel where magic is studied and carefully practiced under the watchful eyes of wizened mages. Sure, we were still children and according to the rules, we couldn't be allowed to be "full mages". I could sit here and train and train and train until I finally reached combat age (16). Only one year away just so you know. I already had my special recommendation sent for me. I was going to attend the Battlemage Pre-Training program, a program designed to train young pre-mages in the art of magical combat for the service of the Imperial Battlemages. I wanted to be a battlemage and now I was on the stepping stones to become one.

I look down at my sister. She's clinging onto my waist, either afraid or excited about where we were. It was a long journey and now she was probably afraid whether or not this place was going to be everything we believe it was going to be. Sure, we were mages, but we were still children. You didn't see many here and if they were here, the failure rate was understandably high. This was the best of the best to train at. Now, I'm not going to say, "We're the best", but come on…we weren't just the run of the mill normal students with rich families paying our tuition. We paid our dues by doing what we did best.

…

Now, we didn't steal. Stop type-casting us.

Sure, we were young, but we knew how to create magical items. I was the magical enchanter and my sister was the alchemical designer. There is a bit of a story for that too.

While on our own, we were just poking around an Ayleid ruin, looking for stuff to take and sell so we could eat for the week. (This was before the Mages Guild, mind you) We didn't want to be pegged as 'the stereotypical Khajiits who stole'. There were enough of us running around doing that. We wanted to just be normal furred cat-like people. Well, anyway, we were in this Ayleid ruin when we ran across a bunch of welkynd stones. We knew these sold for a good price, so we gathered them up. We didn't notice the dark welkynd glowing red right above us.

Well, while holding onto the welkynd stones, we were blasted by some sort of lighting produced by the dark welkynd stone. The stones he held seemed to absorb the energy and then they shattered into dust. My sister and I ran for it, hauling a bunch of stones with us as we ran. Well, a couple days later, we started experiencing…things. Not super powers, per say, but we were faster, stronger, and I had lightning crackling on my claw tips. We went to the Mages Guild to get ourselves checked out. We got a scolding for running through an Ayleid ruin, but the tests confirmed that we had strong energy currents running through our bodies. That was when we decided to make the Mages Guild our home. That was two years ago.

We spent one year actually learning how to use our new found abilities. I found out that I am a natural at energy-weaving weapons and just about anything. I supplied the Battlemage Contingent with a whole new set of enhanced weapons. It was part of my tuition to get into the Pre-Training program so I was more than happy to assist.

My sister, while I crafted weapons, used her nose to sniff out new exciting potions that made the most recognized potions in the world more potent. She has a talent for alchemy alright, but she uses Alteration and Illusion flawlessly (for her age at least. She's still a novice, while I am an apprentice), while I stick to Destruction and Restoration. She used her new potions (especially that one that attaches limbs) to pay for her stay here as well. We bought our own room and paid for our classes in full.

Letting myself come back to the present, I took this time to just look around. I can see all the apprentices listening to the wizards. I could see the beautifully crafted buildings, the strong looking gate that kept us out. I could see all the enchantments that flowed off of the gate. I could probably figure out what it was enchanted with if I got enough time to study it.

I looked down at my sister and said, "Doesn't it look great?"

She looked up at me and said, "Brother, is this going to be our new home?" She asked with a small voice, shaky and anxious.

My fur tingled at that word. We hadn't had a home in a year, just going from place to place. Sure, we were in the guild so we always had a bed to sleep in and food to eat, but we never truly had our own place. This was a good place to start. I nodded and said, "It is."

"Are you two Vatu and Nisha?" We both looked up to see a Breton who was easily a whole head taller than I'll ever get. I nodded. The Breton nodded to me and said, "I am Adam Ernard and I am your new guide as well as your new foster parent. Please follow me and I'll show you to your quarters and once you're settled in I'll show you around."

I looked down at sister and squeezed her hand. "See, Nisha? Our new home." I sure hoped that I was right.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ That is but a taste of what's to come. If you just now read this and the following chapter is short and untasteful... wait like three days or something and I think it might seem a little longer, better explained, and probably a better read. So, that's that. If this is your first time reading... congrats, you got the better end of this stick._

_By the way, the mage who sounds very much like a Brotherhood assassin... is. The Listener in fact. Will be important in The Rouge Shadowscale, the sequel... coming soon._


	2. Ch 2: Class Schedules

**Cearbhail: **_Ok, guys. I guess if you're still reading, then we're off to a good start. Ok, so a week has passed and now our new favorite kitties have their new class schedules. If you recognize any of the names in the list... you get brownie points. By brownie points I mean, a pat on the back._

_Ok, so this one has also had its first and hopefully last update. I made it longer, introduced one of the main characters earlier, hopefully it captures her unique personality better. I'll keep this up all week long until all the bad chapters are up to speed. Anyway, ENJOY._

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><p>Faces started forming in the dark mist that seemed to flow in front of me. Thousands of faces, all frowning, all Khajiit, all of them my ancestors. I could tell why they frowning, I was in danger. They knew it and somehow, they were trying to let me know that I was in danger. The only thing is that I couldn't tell how I knew that they knew that I was in danger.<p>

My father walked up to me; his face full of worry. He opened his mouth to speak but instead of words, silence flowed from his lips as he spoke to me. He finished and shrugged. He stepped back to the others. They all opened their mouths and tried speaking. It was the same result, I could hear nothing.

The dark world started to shift. My ancestors started to walk backwards, into the mist. One by one they disappeared from the world, leaving only my mother and my father. They both bowed to me and stepped back. Within seconds, they were nothing but wisps floating in the air.

"Brother, wake up."

The world shifted away and my eyes opened up. It took me a second to realize where I was. Well, it only took me one second to know that my sister was standing over me but as for where we were… that took me a few more seconds. The light purple/blue ceilings and walls, the alchemy table set up in the corner of the room, the books lining our new bookshelf. More than that, my bed. My warm cozy bed.

My sister pulled and pushed on my arm. "Brother, wake up."

My eyes were open. How on Nirn did she not notice that? I shook her hand off my arm and said, "I'm awake, sister."

My sister looked too excited to really notice anything I did or said. "Hurry, brother. Today's the day." She said, jumping up and down. She rushed over to her new dresser and pulled out her brand new green robe. She smiled the biggest smile I'd ever seen her smile since our parents died. She ducked into her small changing area that she set up two nights ago. "Brother, you should change into your robe as well."

I nodded. Yeah, it was a good idea. Since Nisha was already concealed, I decided to just change right where I stood. I pulled my robe out of my own dresser and threw it on as fast as I could. Nisha came out right as I finished throwing my new sandals on. I couldn't believe it was finally the day that we started our training.

Today was our first day of training. I had three classes, each with their own instructor. One for each specific magic that I would be practicing today. Sadly, I won't be in the same classes as Nisha. She's in three classes; Alchemy, Illusion, and Alteration. I'm in Destruction, Enchanting, and Restoration. Each class was three hours long and we could only take three a season. In order for me to qualify for Battlemage, I have to have to get an 'M' for Destruction, 'K' for Restoration, 'M' for Enchanting, 'P' for Alchemy…not my strong point, and 'M' for Martial Defense. I have a full two seasons of classes to attend. I have an extra slot to fill, so I'm not sure yet what I should take.

The grading scale was pretty standard. 'M' meant 'mastery'. You had to get the best remarks in that field. Of course that was based purely on the instructor and how much they thought mastery meant. Next was 'P'; Proficient. That meant I had knowledge and capable of using this field with no problems. After that was 'K'; Knowledgeable. To get that you had to at least be able to show that you understand the theory behind it. After that was the most embarrassing grade you could ever get… 'N'. Nord… you didn't want to get a 'Nord' on your final exams. That meant that you had no ability with that magic at all…it was an insult to get it.

After we finished getting dressed, I followed my sister down to the dining hall. The dining hall was huge with its own enchanted ceiling that looked like the sky above us. I thought it was ingenious though a little over-the-top. Looking around the dining hall, I always came up with the same conclusion. It was quiet. Not a lot of kids like us ever make it this far…and if you think there were other Khajiits here…you were wrong. We stuck out like a sore thumb. The only thing as different as us was Tar-Meena and she was the head librarian of the Mystic Archives.

My sister and I both grabbed a seat and I looked around. There were nothing but Altmer and Bretons in this room. I guess this is the common race for mages, at least. I can't lie; I feel intimidated by all the tall Altmer walking around. I'm still just a cub, only mid-teens. My sister is only 10 and she's a good head smaller than I am. Finally, my eye caught someone other than an Altmer. It was a Dunmer witch. She had her nose in a book and an apple in her hand. She glanced up at me once she noticed I was looking at her. I waved, hoping I could get some type of reaction from her. She smiled politely and buried her face back into her book.

We continued to sit there until Adam walked into the room. He nodded a welcome and sat down next to Nisha. He said, "How are you two getting along here?" He looked at me and then at Nisha. He was appointed our guardian since we didn't have any parents. Adam was now our adopted father and he did everything a father usually did. This morning, he brought us breakfast. I must admit, I was happy to have someone looking after us for once. It gets exhausting looking out for yourself and having an adult look out for you felt great. I'm sure that later it would become annoying, but for right now, I'll enjoy it.

Nisha nodded vaguely. She said, "It is very quiet."

I noticed that Adam didn't quite understand what she meant when all we heard in the background was all the chatting of the Altmer. I said, "We're used to the Imperial City's market place. This place is much quieter." Adam nodded. He seemed to understand.

He handed us our class information and said, "Ok, Vatu; you need to grab one of the old rusty daggers in the practice room for your Enchanting class. This rusty dagger will follow you all the way till the end of the course. We have hundreds that the battlemages bring us after every mission that they go on. The Battlemage Commander is going to send some scouts to watch over your progress in the Battlemage program that you're attending so keep your eyes open and do what they say." He looked over at Nisha and said, "Nisha, your Alchemy class requires that you bring your own mortar and pestle. I'm guessing you have one, right?"

Nisha nodded. "Yes, Mr. Ernard."

"Call me Adam."

"Ok…Adam. I have my own mortar and pestle in my room."

Adam smiled. He said, "I am proud to be your guardian, guys. Enjoy class." He stood up and walked away.

I looked over at the Dunmer to see that she was already gone. I looked around but I didn't see her. She didn't even come by to say 'hi'. Looking down at my sister, I could see just how much we stood out. Making friends here might be hard. I wouldn't be surprised if no one approached us. It was already our third day here and we haven't talked to anyone other than Adam. I looked my sheet of paper, hoping to distract my mind from my thoughts of not belonging.

_Vatu_

_Race: Khajiit (15)_

_Level One Apprentice._

_Program attendance: Battlemage Pre-Training Program_

_Class: Destruction Spells 101. Location: Mage Practice Room. Instructor: J'skar. Time: 0800-1100._

_Lunch break: 1100-1130._

_Class: Enchanting for Beginners. Location: Chironasium. Instructor: Arielle Jurard. Time: 1145-1400._

_Class: Restoration 101. Location: Praxographical Center. Instructor: Marie Palielle. Time: 1410-1700._

I only smiled as I noticed not all the classes were three hours long. The Enchanting class was only two hours long plus a quarter hour. I looked up at the wall to glance up at the most creative creation ever known to man or mer: a clock. It was some sort of Dwarven creation that kept track of time. All it took was a bunch of Dwemer cogs, an actual base with numbers, and a petty soul gem that kept the thing ticking. It was amazing, I never could have created such a device. Taking my eye off of its awesomeness, I could see that it was an hour from the start of my first class. I decided to eat my food as fast as I could and then report to the practice rooms to get my old rusty dagger. After all, I had classes to go to!

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Ok, so that was the second chapter. A little longer and it took me almost ten minutes of scrolling through my book looking for a trainer in Restoration and then I tried finding one for Enchanting and forgot... oh wait, that was Morrowind that actually had that as a learnable skill set, so I used a Battlemage for the posistion since well... it's part of their training. Hope everyone's still with me so far._

_So, if you want to see something happen, just let me know. it's never too late to see some character appear or disappear. (evil smile)_


	3. Ch 3: J'skar

**Cearbhail: **_Ok, guys. I guess if you're still reading, then we're off to a good start. Ok, so now Vatu is waiting in his first class. Now, I'm not going to sit here and write about what they learn in their class... that is what off-screen training is for. I might go through some classes, but for the most part, just expect time skips. Anyway, they don't know J'skar can turn invisible. Big hint._

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><p>This isn't how I expected to start out my first day. I'm sitting in a room, glancing up at the clock. All its majesty has worn off by now. Seeing it tick every second while waiting for the class to start was annoying. Everyone is here, but our instructor. We've been sitting here for almost 40 minutes now and we haven't even heard him come in or anything. No notice on the door that the class was cancelled or anyone telling us that our instructor was going to be late. Everyone's getting impatient and I can't blame them. My tail's twitching in annoyance.<p>

Since nothing else was going on, I decided to look around. The room was filled with a bunch of students near my age. A bunch of Altmer, Breton, some Bosmer, and … the Dunmer I saw earlier this morning. She had her face in the same book as before and she looked so small compared to all the Altmer surrounding her. She once again noticed that I was looking at her and looked over at me. She smiled tentatively and waved. I waved back, smiling. Well, at least I had her attention now. If I could get to talk to her, maybe I'd have a friend here.

One of the Altmer sitting next to her threw his arms up and yells, "Where is he?"

The Dunmer shrunk into her seat, pulling the book over her head. Man, she was skittish.

"I'm right here!" A voice called from in front of us. It was loud enough to pull my eyes from the Dunmer and over to the desk in front of me.

A yellow mist started for form out of nowhere in front of me and it covered a single spot in the room. Out of the mist, a Khajiit walked out. He made such an impressive entrance that everyone was speechless. He said, "I am Evoker J'skar, and I will be your Destruction instructor. Now, does anyone here have any experience with Destruction magic?"

Three Altmer and I raised our hands. A couple other kids looked around at our raised hands and shrunk in their seats. The Dunmer kept her head hidden in her book the whole time, never even looking up at the other hands.

J'skar knocked on my deck, throwing my eyes back on him. He smiled and said, "Ooh, another Khajiit in Destruction. Interesting." He waved his claw at me and said, "All of you with training and a spell in the art of Destruction, please come up."

So, we stood up. We walked to the front of the class. Everyone had their eyes on us. The Dunmer dropped her book to glance up at us. One of the Altmer nudged me in the arm. I looked over at him and he nodded. "Nice to meet you, I'm…"

"No talking while I'm talking." J'skar said to my new friend. My friend smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry, sir. Won't happen again." J'skar smiled back. "You can introduce yourselves once class is over. Right now, let's focus on magic." he looked at all of us, "What spells do you know?"

My new Altmer friend said, "I know the basic Fireball spell." He said it so proudly; you'd think he just said that he could crumble mountains with it. The Altmer with white hair snickered.

J'skar looked over at him and said, "Oh? Was there something funny I missed, Apprentice?" J'skar had a glitter in his eyes that only Khajiit would understand. There was about to be bloodshed masked as a smile. I could see his claws already coming out of his palms.

The apprentice pointed at himself. He said, "I know the Fire Storm, Snowball, and Shock spells."

J'skar oohed and waved his hands in a mocking fashion. "Did you hear that, everyone?" He turned around and stared at everyone like he was impressed. "He knows the Fire Storm spell. Oh how long he must have trained to become such a master…in a beginner's class."

The Altmer smiled and shrugged confidently. "Well… I wouldn't say master but…"

J'skar waved his hand dismissively and said, "Don't get cocky, kid. This is a class. If you can perform then you will pass. I don't care if you know one spell or a hundred. You will learn what I teach you. If you know more…good for you but it's not required in order to pass and it's not extra credit. Here's the scoop: My class isn't about spells, it's about endurance. I'm going to share a story with you. Almost five years ago, I was in the Bruma Mages Guild."

The Dunmer raised her hand. It was probably the first time I've seen her actually taking interest in what was going on. She said, "Evoker? Wasn't that guild destroyed by the necromancers back then?"

J'skar nodded. He said, "That is true and I was there when it happened. That spell I used to survive is the same one I had covered myself with for the 40 minutes you were in here waiting. I was hoping to see if you students would start scanning the room. Traps are everywhere in the world and so are invisible spies. Now, invisibility is an Illusion spell so I won't be teaching you that. I will however when you decide to take Advanced Illusion a couple years from now."

J'skar waved his own claw to dismiss his own comment. He said, "I'm getting side-tracked. I was there the night the Bruma Mages Guild was attacked. Back then, our current Arch-Mage had broken into the door and single-handedly killed all the summoned Daedra and Undead creatures that were trying to kill us. I was the only survivor and she rescued me. She fought with staff and sword. As far as I know, she only knew three spells at the time, but she killed all our enemies because she could cast them over and over, while masters in our own guild died because they tired after a few casts."

I noticed the Altmer with white hair lower his eyes. He must not be able to cast his strong spells much. They were advanced spells that took a lot of magicka. For someone, anyone, it would deplete their energy within the first couple seconds of combat. Depending on how you used them though, you could win the whole fight within that one second. I couldn't help but think that my Destruction skill set wasn't as impressive as his but at least I had no problem using them. I could last maybe an hour of continuous combat but after that, I was lucky if I could even deflect lightning with my enchanted sword.

J'skar looked over at me. He said, "And you, fellow Khajiit mage: what are your talents?"

I froze. My talents? I said, "Well…um. I'm good at enchanting weapons, healing, and as far as Destruction goes: I know Burning Touch, Cold Touch, and Corrode Weapon."

J'skar only chuckled. He pointed at the Altmer at the front of the group. He said, "He knows one Journeyman level spell." He pointed at the Altmer that knew a lot of spells. J'skar said, "He knows one expert spell, one novice, and one apprentice spell." He raised an eyebrow at me and said, "Are you telling me you only know two novice spells and an apprentice spell?" J'skar leaned back and started hissing a laugh.

I lowered my head in shame. The Dunmer was giving me a sympathetic look but was already pulling her book back up to her head. My Altmer friend nudged me again. I glanced up and he was also giving me a sympathetic look. Now I felt worse. Was I the worst student here?

"You are kidding right?" J'skar asked me, confused. "You do know more powerful spells…any spells? Restoration, Illusion…Mysticism?"

I shook my head. "No, sir. I don't know powerful spells, just normal spells."

J'skar seemed to be frozen in his spot. He leaned in to whisper into my ear. He said, "You do realize your magicka aura is far brighter than anyone's in here, right? With your aura…it's uncommon that someone just comes into it with no prior knowledge of master level spells. Only our top mages burn so brightly. You have the aura of a pure mage, no mistake."

I only shrugged at it, which J'skar only shrugged back. J'skar signaled everyone to take their seats. I quickly sat back down and buried my face into my desk. This was embarrassing. My new teacher, a Khajiit mage, just pretty much insulted me in front of the whole class…and he did it as a mistake because apparently I'm powerful. The only thing I can do is enchant weapons and even then I'm as ordinary as any other enchanter.

J'skar clasped his claws and said, "Ok enough showing off. Today; we're going to learn about the different elements and why only some people can learn only one. Today, if we're lucky; we will find your element."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Ok, so that was the third chapter. A little longer and it took me no real time at all. I'm actually starting to enjoy this but the fun doesn't really start until he gets captured on the Bloody Float. That's when the fun begins. Hope everyone's still with me so far. There will be more soon, I promise._


	4. Ch 4: Jurard the Enchanter

**Cearbhail: **_Ok, guys. I guess if you're still reading, then i guess you either like it or just want to see how it ends or if it'll get better. Ok, so now Vatu is waiting in his second class. He's enjoying his lunch and doesn't know his Enchanting teacher is in fact, a battlemage._

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><p>So, today's Destruction class was easier than I thought it would have been. I was excited to find out our instructor was a Khajiit like me, although I did spend the whole period with my head low. J'skar allowed me to be reclusive after embarrassing me in front of everyone. He did apologize to me after class, though, which made me feel better about it. He said that once I started to learn magic, the others would see just how strong I really was. When he found out that I was in the Battlemage Program, he became excited. He stated that as far as he knew; there were no Khajiits in the Battlemage Corps. I might be one of the first Khajiits to make it to the program, but there is still a chance I might not get in. First I have to get through two seasons of classes. I know I'll do just fine in J'skar's class, but I still have two classes to attend today and then I will know how hard the class will be.<p>

After I finally left the classroom, I decided to look for the Dunmer or the Altmer I met. I couldn't find either of them. So, since I couldn't find anyone, I decided to take my break by the Chironasium and eat my lunch. It was quiet here and there was little traffic. My sister, Nisha, was nowhere to be seen, but from what I heard from her new classmates, she was eating her lunch in the Lustratorium. Maybe she made it herself using her Alchemy skills. Since her next class was Illusion; maybe she'd meet J'skar as well. I haven't seen her schedule so I don't know who her teachers are. It was good she wasn't stuck around my waist. I didn't hate it but she needed to branch out. We were family, but family needed friends. This was her new life, mine was somewhere else. Hopefully, it was out on the frontlines fighting necromancers and liches.

Feeling hunger grasp at me, I unwrapped my precooked meal; Rat and rice. I took a nice big sniff of the rat and noticed that it wasn't warm. I placed my hand underneath the iron plate and started warming the plate with my fire magic. Within a minute, I could smell the rat warming up.

"What are you eating?"

I looked up from my meal. A Bosmer with green hair stood about two feet away from me with disgusted eyes. She was glaring down at my cooked rat. So, I chuckled a bit and shoved it towards her nose.

She reeled back and yelled, "Don't get that thing near me." She covered her nose. "What is it? I could smell it from the other side of the guild."

"It's rat." I said as bluntly as I could.

She looked down at my plate. "Oh, rat. Never tried it before."

"Wouldn't surprise me. Only Khajiit and Argonians eat rats by choice." I stuck out my claw. "Vatu."

She gingerly took my hand. "Primrose." Once we stopped shaking, she said, "Well, it was nice meeting you." She turned around and almost ran off.

I was finally able to eat my rat meat. The taste was unreal. I've never tasted rat this good. It was probably because the rats I ate were from the sewers. These were farmed rats that were delivered here by a summoned crate.

"Are you waiting for the Enchanting class?"

I sighed inwardly. I wish I could actually have a minute to just eat. I looked up. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was a Breton woman with fancy armor. The armor was unreal. It looked like mithril but with blue tribal spirals carved into the mithril armor. It glowed with a dull brilliance that my eyes couldn't stop looking at. She wore a blue hood that was interwoven into her armor. Looking down, I could see that she had a string of weapons attached at her hip. Two daggers on both sides and a sword that was slung across her back. She had a scar on her cheek. This had to be a battlemage.

She looked down at me, waiting for an answer. I couldn't help but just look at her. She smiled and said, "Oh, wait. You're Vatu, aren't you? The Khajiit mage who is looking to join the Battlemage Academy? Well, I am Arielle Jurard and I am the scout sent out to watch over your progress as well as the other battlemage trainees."

I stood up and bowed to her. I said, "It is an honor, Miss Jurard." I thought maybe I was too formal but she didn't say anything. She just paced around me, probably scanning my energy.

She said, "You look fit. Your aura is strong, your muscles look responsive, and your attitude is in check. If you let me; I'll train you myself to be the best battlemage around. It'll make the Academy easier to survive. Gods know I could have used the preparation. These classes are designed to give you some knowledge of how to use Destruction, Restoration, Enchanting, blah blah blah, but they don't prepare you for the Academy. Half of the recruits fail within one month when they can't last one day out in the wild."

I nodded and said, "That sounds great." I couldn't believe the scout sent out to watch over my progress was my teacher. I couldn't be happier.

Jurard said, "Alright then, tonight after dinner; meet me outside the mage quarters. I'll teach you how to fight for real. Your martial arts class will be cake work once I'm done with you." She opened the door to the Chironasium and said, "Class starts in a few minutes. Don't be late." She stepped inside.

I looked down at my rat. No time to sit and enjoy it. I downed my food as fast as I could. Well, that's what I get for trying to find people to socialize with. No I had no time to enjoy my lunch. I stood up and started to go for the door, but the Altmer from Destruction class got to it first.

He held it open and said, "You? The Khajiit who…um…knows enchanting, right? Wait…are you in the BP too?" He asked me with a grin growing on his face.

I stood there. BP? What the heck was a BP?

I guess he noticed my blank stare because he said, "Battlemage Program. Are you?"

I nodded.

He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Erandur. Nice to meet you."

I took his hand and said, "Vatu." We shook on it. I thought I heard Jurard say something about the other recruits. I wondered how many more of them were here. Erandur and I stepped into the class. There were no desks here. There were tables with three chairs for each table stretched out over the class. Erandur and I sat near the front. Jurard wasn't here yet, but her armor was sitting on the ground near the entrance. The door opened up and in walked the Dunmer who smiled at me. She looked at us and when Erandur waved to her to come sit with us, she walked over and sat down.

Almost instantly, everyone started pouring into the class. The tables filled up pretty quick. There were almost twenty students from the last class, but I only saw three come to the Chironasium. One was of course the Dunmer sitting at the other side of the table from me. Another one was a Redguard. The last one was an Imperial. Well, these were the student from the Destruction class, but there were more that I didn't notice. Almost as soon as the door opened, the entire class was filled with students.

Finally, our instructor walked through the basement door. She was wearing regular wizard robes. It was amazing. I wouldn't have guessed that she was a battlemage with just the mage robes on. She looked at all of us with a harsh stare. She said, "How many of you are in the Battlemage Pre-Training Program?" I raised my claw and looked around. Erandur raised his hand and so did the Dunmer girl. She was a battlemage trainee too? What were the odds of that?

A few others raised their hand, but I didn't notice them from the other class. So, the schedule wasn't iron tight then. I'd most likely find more battlemage trainees while in my other class. I would have to keep my eyes out.

She looked at all of us and said, "Right. As I've already told Vatu over there, I am offering advanced training too all battlemage wantabees. The advanced class begins at 1800 and lasts till 1930. We will meet up outside the mage sleeping quarters and we'll take off from there."

She looked at everyone else and said, "For the rest of you; this is the only requirement you have to attend. This is a two part class. Mysticism and Enchanting: why you ask? Why are they combined? Because you cannot enchant weapons without knowing Mysticism first. What do I mean; you wonder? Well, take this for example."

Jurard pulled out a knife. It wasn't enchanted. She said, "This is an ordinary knife." She pulled out a soul gem. "This is a soul gem. Now, what spell do we use to trap souls into these mystical gems?" She looked around the room.

The silent Dunmer raised her hand. She said, "Soul Trap. It is a Mysticism spell."

Jurard nodded to the Dunmer and said, "Very good…Davilia, right?" She nodded. Jurard turned to the rest of the class and said, "Ok. So, we have a knife and a soul gem. This is how untrained enchanters enchant weapons. The first class will learn that method. All you battlemage trainees will be learning more than just mere soul trapping. You will learn magicka weaving. Your enchanted gear will be on a whole different level compared to soul gems."

Jurard grabbed her unenchanted knife and said, "Ok class. Let's begin."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Another revised chapter. Introduced more of the later main characters. Cherri's next. Who's Cherri? Ah man... do I have something planned. Primrose, although it hasn't been shown yet... will grow to fear Vatu... not soon. In fact, I might just have her disappear for a while or just made subtle things happen to her to make her fear grow even more so, or build that relationship up for the drastic fall that comes later (literal fall too). Vatu finally learns the name of the silent Dunmer who becomes one of his best friends. And... in two chapters, I get to introduce my favorite Argonian in a whole new light. Yay!_


	5. Ch 5: Magickaweaving

**Cearbhail: **_Ok, Vatu's next class has finally begun. Jurard has separated the class according to their programs, Pre-Battlemage and just regular students. Vatu sat with his friends again and they were given soul gems and asked to pull out their assigned knives. So, enjoy._

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><p>I sat there, staring at my knife and soul gem. It was like sitting back at the enchanting table I sat at in the Bruma Mages Guild. The mage with the black robes was the first person to show me enchanting. He was a scary person but he was a guild steward so it was his job to train newbies like me and my sister. Of course, I requested this training after he used my sister for his Illusion experiments. I had my recommendation already filled out so spending some time to recuperate from the troll wounds sounded nice. In that time, Heedal trained me in the use of what he called energy-weaving. For an Argonian, he seemed nice.<p>

The end result was that I became an enchanter. Heedal was so impressed with my enchanting that he wanted me to help him enchant some personal weapons that were going to be shipped to his mercenary friends. Nisha and I were paid a lot just for a few weapons. Of course, most of that was spent on new clothes, spells, and the rest was spent on travel to the guild in Cheydinhal, the last guild on our list. I never did figure out why Heedal needed me to enchant weapons. He didn't seem to do any magic himself. He specialized in Alchemy, like my sister, as well as Illusion.

I shook my head of the past. The knife that sat in front of me was the same one I picked up from the armory this morning. I was going to be using this thing all season long? I knew how to enchant something, not how to tear an enchantment apart. Looking over at Davilia, I noticed that her eyes held very little focus on what was in front of her. She looked slightly bored, like this was something she did every day. Erandur looked at the knife like he wanted to swing it around, but the sight of the soul gem filled his eyes with curiosity and fear. A High Elf…scared of a soul gem and enjoying the sight of a knife? What the heck?

I looked around the class. The class itself was separated into halves. The battlemage trainees were on the left, seated together; and the rest of the class was on the right. I looked over at Jurard, who spun her knife around her fingers like it was a pencil. She tossed it up in the air, caught it between her fingers, and started spinning it around again. "Ok. Right side, prepare your soul gems. Left side…just admire the fact that you're never using the one in front of you." I watched as the regular enchanters got their petty soul gems together. How come we weren't working with soul gems?

Erandur looked over at Jurard. "Ma'am, if we're not using our soul gems…the only source of enchanting weapons…what are we using?" He asked.

I smiled. He thought soul gems were the only way to enchant weapons. Good thing I knew a second version of enchanting.

Jurard smiled and said, "Good question. The knife that was given to you is your passing grade for this course. For the non-battlemages; soul trapping creatures that I summon and using the soul gem to enchant their knife is their passing grade for the course. All you battlemage trainees are magicka-weaving your weapons to make them enchanted. Once you do that, you pass my course and you don't have to step foot in this class room ever again. Of course, the spell that you're weaving is up to me."

Davilia sighed. "Not using soul gems…" She looked down. I could see some anxiety and confusion starting to sink in. I must have been the only one who understood what was going on.

Jurard walked over to us and said, "For right now, just sit tight. I'll explain everything later." She walked over to the other students and began explaining Mysticism and how it worked.

"I don't understand why we aren't using soul gems to enchant our weapons." Erandur said as he laid his head on his hands. "This seems….so backwards."

Davilia opened her book. "My book of enchanting says nothing about magicka-weaving. All it talks about is using soul gems."

So, the book Davilia was reading from this whole time was about enchanting. She must have wanted to know more about it before stepping into the classroom. I looked back at Erandur. "Actually, I know what energy-weaving is. I practiced it at the Bruma Mages Guild. It's a form of actually using our own personal energy to enchant the weapons."

Erandur looked up at me. He said, "We may be special because of our program we're in but shouldn't we learn how to use soul gems too?"

Davilia, who silently watched us with her bright red eyes, said, "Anyone can use a soul gem. It is a simple process of manipulating the energy within the soul gem into the actual weapon. From there, you will the soul to take a certain form of magicka and according to the strength of the soul; it takes the form of the enchanted weapon."

I looked at her and said, "You sure know a lot. I don't think you just pulled that out of the book."

She sunk into her seat. She said, "My mother is an enchanter. I've soul trapped and enchanted weapons before as her apprentice."

Erandur said, "So, how does it work?"

I had to admit, I was also curious. I've only magicka-enchanted weapons. I never actually used soul gems and my new friend had been using soul gems her whole life. Now would be a good time to learn something new about enchanting.

She seemed to rise out of her seat again, almost with a smile on her face. "The Mysticism spell for soul trapping requires that you can feel the creature's soul. Once you can feel and see it, you have to be able to grab onto it. You can only do this for so long before you break your hold on it. So, you have to separate it from the body first. You do that by killing it. From there, you snatch the soul away and put it into the soul gem. If the soul is weak enough to be held in it; it fits and will stay in there. If it is too strong; it will slip away. Part of a soul does nothing."

Erandur couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. He said, "You sure do know your craft."

Davilia was about to question him, but Jurard stepped up and said, "That is correct, though. Don't worry; you will learn soul trapping in this class. Right now, I'm teaching you the hard part. Once you learn this, pulling souls from dying animals will be easy. Magicka-weaving is the bare essence of surviving with nothing but a fork or some rock." She said as she walked around our group.

Erandur sighed. "Fine…as long as it makes using soul gems easy."

Jurard turned back to look at us. "For right now, I want you to focus on your bare energy. The stuff that makes your magicka turn into spells. It's the warm flowing feeling in your limbs. I want you to try to refocus that energy into electricity and let it flow into your daggers. I want you to attach your magicka to your weapon. This is an age-old method kept alive by battlemages. This method was used long before we discovered that soul gems could be used for enchanting. We keep it alive because we never know when soul gems are going to disappear again."

She stepped away and allowed us to work with our daggers. Davilia took a deep breath before her hand started crackling with electricity. Erandur and I watched as the electricity flowed from her hand and onto the dagger. She kept pushing more energy into the dagger until it started glowing with a light yellow hue. She opened her eyes and brushed her dark blue hair away from her face. She said, "I think I did it." That was enough to get Jurard over to our table.

She grabbed Davilia's dagger. She said, "Now, hold on." She looked at the weapon and said, "You are close. As it is right now, you have about three uses out of this." She handed the dagger back to Davilia and said, "That's a great start. I'll rephrase my earlier statement: in order to pass the first part of my class, you need to spell-weave a Lesser Soul Gem's strength soul into your dagger. This is not even petty level. Keep it up."

I started focusing my energy into my dagger. I felt the lightning crackle on my claw. It flowed into my dagger, filling it with pure electricity. I understood what magicka-weaving was. It was time I started to demonstrate just how well I could perform in this class. I had to make up for J'skar's class. My new friends knew that I knew what I was doing so I couldn't disappoint them. I looked over to see that everyone else was focusing on their weapons as well. I closed my eyes and focused on filling my dagger. I'm not sure how much time passed but I eventually heard Jurard clap her hands.

Jurard was looking over us. She looked up at the clock and said, "Ok, class. We have only ten minutes left. Let me evaluate your daggers and if you pass, you begin the second part of the training tomorrow. The rest of you get to continue doing this until you can magicka-weave a Lesser Soul Gem level weapon."

So, I handed my weapon to her. I stood there, watching as she held it and closed her eyes. She looked at me and said, "Pass." She handed me my weapon and said, "I'm impressed. For your first attempt you did very well. See you tomorrow, Vatu."

I started to walk out the door. That wasn't my first attempt, it was nearly my twentieth. Enchanting for the Mages Guild as well as the battlemages gave me plenty of practice. I stood by the door, watching my friends walk up with their daggers. I wondered if they would…

"Pass."

Davilia smiled as she was given her dagger back. Good, I hoped she would pass. She walked up to me and smiled. "I guess you and I will be in the after class tonight?"

I nodded and watched as she walked out of the class.

"Pass." What? A third one? I looked back again to see Erandur bowing to Jurard. I didn't expect him to pass. He didn't even know a thing about enchanting!

Erandur exhaled and I could see the relief written on his face. He walked up. "Did I hear Davilia say that she was coming to the after class session?"

I nodded.

He smiled and said, "Then I will see both of you tonight then."

I nodded back. Yup, I definitely made some friends. I'm just glad I had someone to talk to when people normally ignored and even looked down on Khajiits. Maybe I did belong here after all.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Another revised chapter. Earlier I made a mistake in that Vatu was taking this class and somehow did not know anything about enchanting...when all he did while studying at the mages guild was...enchant weapons. I had to fix it so this entire chapter needed rephrasing and Erandur playing the idiot for once. Next chapter, Nexa gets introduced. Can't wait._


	6. Ch 6: The Shadowscale

**Cearbhail: **_Finally, we get to meet the new Nexa. Well, it's the old Nexa only more expressive in the first chapter. Anyway, important character, also the main charater for the sequel...coming up after this one ends._

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><p>Immediately after I heard Erandur passed, I left for my Restoration class. I'm sure I'll run into those two again and when I do, we'll party. I'm not sure if we're friends yet, but I don't hate them and I think they don't hate me. Davilia seems nice if not a bit shy and reclusive and Erandur isn't the asshole Altmer that I expected him to be. As far as Altmer went, he seemed down to Nirn. It wasn't every day you saw an Altmer who talked to Khajiits and Dunmer like we were commoners but Erandur talked to both Davilia and I like we were the experts. As long as I've known Altmer, even if they know nothing about the craft in front of them, they still act like the superiors.<p>

Honestly…I wouldn't surprise if Altmer started wearing black and tried to take over the other races. They believe themselves better than everyone else already so…what could possible possess them to make them think that they were good enough to take over? I wouldn't be surprised if they took advantage of the ruined Empire and started controlling Cyrodiil. And finally, I wouldn't be surprised if Elsweyr and Skyrim became the last refuge places for the other races.

Anyway, I was sitting in my chair; waiting for the Restoration class to begin. I haven't seen Davilia or Erandur come in yet, maybe they aren't taking Restoration this season. There were other people coming into the room and our instructor waited patiently behind her desk. As far as I could tell; she was a Breton and a healer. She just seemed to have a smile that warmed me up but there was something in her eyes that just made my fur rise coldly. I could tell everyone was falling for her angelic smile. They were smiling and relaxing in their seats while I sat there uncomfortably. Looking around, I could see someone else was not falling for her smile; an Argonian. She looked just as cautious as I felt.

Our instructor glanced at the clock and stood up. She said, "Welcome to Restoration 101. Here you will learn the basics of healing yourself and others. If you already know how to do both; please forgive me. You can test out of this class anytime you wish; but you must demonstrate your healing abilities through a series of tests that will not only test your magical ability to heal, but your ability to shut out pain while healing yourself."

The female Argonian raised her hand and said, "What about draining life?"

Our instructor pursed her lips and shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't dabble in darker side of Restoration. I am Sister Marie Palielle. I am the healer at the Chapel of Julianos in Skingrad and I have sworn off violent means of using my holy energy given to me by Julianos. If you wish to learn how to hurt and maim others by using Restoration magic, I suggest you wait until next season where you can be taught the use of such barbaric means of our blessed magic. The class is called 'Combative Restoration'. You can sign up for that next season _if_ you pass my class."

The Argonian raised her hand and said, "I'm ready to test out now."

Sister Marie nodded and pulled out a silver knife. She said, "Come over here, then."

The Argonian said, "Wait…what's the knife for?"

Sister Marie smiled and said, "Well, I have to stab you a lot. Remember, I not only have to test your ability to heal, I have to test your ability to shut out a lot of pain while you try to heal yourself. I must make sure you can heal your wounds. Stabbing you in the hand is the most painful and acceptable of tests to see if you can handle healing yourself while you're in pain and under stress. If I do it a couple hundred times, I can fairly assess if you can handle healing yourself. The real question is…can you heal someone else as well?"

Sister Marie looked at me. "You, Khajiit. You will be her test subject. I will stab you in the chest. Her goal will be to heal you before you bleed out. Come up here." She waved me forward.

The Argonian called out. "Hey! He's not testing out! Why not volunteer yourself as my test subject?"

Marie smiled through her teeth. "I need to be coherent enough to assess your healing ability. I cannot do that if I'm dying on the floor."

The Argonian sat back down. "Then forget it! I'm not letting you stab someone just to see if I can heal an open wound."

Sister Marie gently put down her knife and cleared her throat. She said, "Well…if any of you wish to test out, please let me know. Otherwise, you will pass this class when I say you do." She smiled at all of us. It was like she had forgotten that she just almost got away with having two of her students stabbed to almost near death. What type of healer was this?

I couldn't help but feel just a little…scared by her complete innocence. She couldn't have been serious about stabbing her in the hand or me in the chest. That must have been a test itself. The fact that she only looked over at me and the Argonian also scared me. Was she prejudice or something?

Sister Marie started teaching the class as if nothing was wrong and especially like she didn't know that everyone on this ship was no dead afraid of her. She started explaining exactly how the Nine Divines guided and protected us all and how they taught the first Altmers the power of Restoration. These first priests were the ones who started using Restoration to heal any travelers who were ill or wounded to the point of death. Travelers would travel the whole world just to come and learn this new art or to receive healing themselves. I actually found it interesting to listen to.

The class finished up after the longest three hours I had to sit through all day. My other two classes were wonderful so it was only natural that this class would be the one to scare the crap of me. Destruction…safe, fun. Enchanting, well it's enchanting…ha. Restoration…scared the crap out of me.

I stood up to leave but I found myself waiting for the Argonian to get up. She was taking her sweet time, though and I wanted to be out of this room as fast as I could.

Sister Marie smiled at me. "Is there something you wish to discuss, Khajiit?"

I started to stammer, but the Argonian walked up. "No, he is just waiting for me. Come, friend." She grabbed me by the arm and started to pull me out of the classroom. Once we cleared the doorway, she tailed around and started to pull me into an alley. She released me from her hold and bowed. "I am sorry for almost getting you involved in that…test. If she hadn't turned her hand towards you…I would have tested out. Being stabbed holds no power on me and she knew it so she wanted to test my resolve on someone else."

I smiled. "That's ok. Being stabbed…hopefully won't have a hold on me either."

She crossed her arms and said, "You waited for me to leave. Why?"

I stepped back and said, "I was just making sure you were safe. You were the last one in the class and honestly, I don't trust our instructor enough to leave you alone with her."

She nodded and said, "Thanks for the thought, but I wanted to be alone with her. I wanted her to stab me. I wanted a reason to kill her."

"Kill her?" That was different. Never heard that from someone's mouth before.

"Yes, kill her. She hides torture by naming it testing resolve. She threatens others instead of the target. She's evil as far as I'm concerned and evil…needs punished. I wanted to see just how evil she was. If she tried to kill me, it solidifies my resolve to end her."

Oh…that actually made some amount of sense.

She noticed my shift in my eyes because she stuck out her hand. "I'm Nexa. You?"

I pointed at myself and said, "Vatu. Nice to meet you." We shook hands and I asked, "Are you by chance in the Battlemage Program?" I was hoping that I met another trainee.

She shook her head. She said, "No, I'm a Shadowscale-in-training. I'm here attending Illusion and Restoration training before I head back to Argonia."

"Argonia? Don't you mean Black Marsh?"

"No…shadowscales don't call it by the Empire given name 'Black Marsh'. We still have pride in our Queen. We are Argonians and we live in Argonia; our own country, not some province ruled by some dead ruler who was replaced by the next royal person who is not born of dragon blood, who bought their way onto the throne."

I nodded. "Khajiit feel the same way. We own our land, not the Imperials."

She walked past me and said, "Every country feels that way. Only the Orcs and the High Elves accept the Empire into their lands. The Orcs lost their land in battle and the High Elves wish to own it themselves. Every other nation just smiles and bears their little game of 'we're here to protect you'. Yeah, right. You can bet that one day someone is going to stand up to them and push them out of their country. I wouldn't be surprised if it were Elsweyr or even Valenwood. I would say Argonia would be the first to fight…but the Empire already has no hold on us. We own our land but we allow them to think they own it by calling it Black Marsh. Bah, idiots." She dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand.

I never thought the Empire really owned Black Marsh…I mean, Argonia. They could hardly keep their own land.

She turned around to face me. She bowed. "Perhaps we'll talk again later. I hear you potentials have your training in a couple hours. You should take this time to eat lightly and relax."

I bowed back. "Thanks, Nexa. Maybe I'll see you later?"

She smiled. "I'm a shadowscale…you won't see me, but I will see you." She said as she backed further into the alley. Almost instantly, she just morphed into the shadows.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Another revised chapter. Happy I made this more expressive. There was barely any acknowledgement of just how twisted of a person Sister Marie is and before I accidently made Nexa seem like a coward for not testing out of the class, so I needed to reassure that she could and would test out...if not for the fact that Vatu was involved too. it seemed like a good trade-off._


	7. Ch 7: Erandur's Armor

**Cearbhail:** _This wasn't really an important chapter when I first wrote it. It was a fill-in between the last class and the beginning of the battlemage training. It was dinner but then something happened where I just wrote that Erandur showed up with his robes on and I made a big deal of it and then... why not give him armor? And then.. Erandur was transformed from funny guy to soldier guy and he kept that attitude from then on. I honestly never planned for it but I was happy to elaborate on the change between Ron Weasly to Superman. And yes, that makes Davilia Hermoine and Vatu Harry... ha... his name should be furry. And Primrose would be Luna, I guess. Wow, I really never stopped to think about it but it really does make sense._

_Anyway, enjoy._

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><p>Dinner wasn't as exciting as I expected. My sister was still hanging around the Lustratorium and I ended up eating with Davilia and Erandur. Now, I know that I was excited about meeting new friends for the first time in…ages, but it's still a new thing to me. There is such a thing as too much social interaction, especially if you're used to being alone. It wasn't bad, though. Davilia seemed to notice my waning ability to smile and laugh at Erandur's jokes. Erandur didn't seem to notice one bit. He just laughed and joked like nothing in the world could even bother him.<p>

I started to look around for Nexa. I did spot her at the edge of the dining hall, but she had her hood up and she seemed to be in a trance while she glared into a crystal ball that was just a few inches away. I did now just notice that she was not wearing robes like everyone else. She was wearing a black scaly armor that seemed to fight to her body. That must have been the armor of the shadowscale. It looked menacing, no doubt about that.

Erandur turned my attention back on him. He spent most of the dinner eating rice and chatting up a storm to me and sometimes he'd look over at Davilia and try to engage her into the conversation. Davilia just sat there quietly, reading a new book about Alchemy while glancing at Erandur and me while we talked. Of course, I brought up my Restoration teacher and the shadowscale. Erandur sat there open-mouthed before he stated that he had no intention of testing out of the class, then. It turned out that both Davilia and Erandur were in Beginner Alchemy. They actually ran into my sister, who for whatever reason, was sitting in the class.

I guess my sister rearranged her classes. Her Alchemy class was actually changed to the evening due to some mistake of the Alchemy class in the morning being over-full. The Alteration class was half empty so she was put in that one instead and she traded her spot in the Alteration class to a later Alchemy class that was still behind by four slots. At least, that's what Davilia said when she told me that she talked to my sister during class. I was surprised that she even talked to my sister. It appears that the two were friends now.

We finished up dinner and we walked out of the dining area. As promised, our newest instructor waited outside with a bunch of cloth vambraces that looked designed for punching. Jurard herself was out of her robe and was down to a loose battle skirt and some old dingy shirt. She looked at us and said, "You still have half an hour to get ready. I'm not telling you what we're doing tonight, so prepare for anything." Prepare for anything…I wish I could have predicted what she had in mind. But as it was, I put on some shorts and I took my shirt off. I had fur, what did I need a shirt for?

I came outside to see that Davilia was wearing a similar battle skirt with shorts underneath and a workout top. Erandur didn't even bother changing out of his robe. The rest of the potentials that showed up were dressed appropriately. Erandur was the only one wearing a robe.

Jurard looked at Erandur and said, "Are you sure that's what you want to wear?"

Erandur shrugged. He said, "If I have to drop it, I shall." He said it in a way that made his robe sound like it was something that didn't matter to him. There was that Altmer elitist attitude that I expected from him. It was finally rearing its ugly head. I looked back up at Jurard to see that she was nodding in approval.

She pointed at Erandur and said, "This is how a battlemage talks. He comes in fully prepared for anything. If he needs to drop something, he does it. Now, Erandur; what's under your robe?" She crossed her arms in excitement. There was something in her smile that told me that she already knew what was under his robe. Couldn't this be taken as sexual harassment?

Erandur only sighed and he started to pull up his robe. Everyone started closing their eyes. Davilia actually closed her eyes and turned completely around while Erandur started to pull up his robe. I started to close my eyes as well, but the creaking of chainmail caused my eyes to flutter back open. His robe plopped off and now I could see a chainmail/mithril armor combo that covered his body. It looked slim and fitting to his body. I had never seen armor like his.

"You're wearing armor?" I almost screamed. It was enough to make everyone's eyes snap open. There was a collective 'ooh' or 'ahh' that just started to create a scene around the whole group. Mages from elsewhere just started appearing out of nowhere, just to look at the Altmer's armor. It was like some sort of mystical event where people just showed up at the right time.

Jurard paced around his armor and said, "I already knew you were wearing armor. Enchanted too. Once you learn how to enchant armor and detect life and blah blah blah…you tend to pick up new skills of figuring out what's enchanted and exactly what it's enchanted with. You've enchanted this set of armor with Feather and Heat and Cold Resistance haven't you?"

Erandur nodded. He said, "I am an Altmer. We have a weakness to the elements, both magical and weather related. My father helped me design this armor. He is a battlemage so he knows a thing or two about making armor. This armor keeps me cool under the sun and warm in the snow. Not to mention; with the Feather, I don't feel it sitting against me at all." His joking smiling voice was gone, replaced with a calculative voice instead. He stood up straight and folded his hands like he was a warrior.

Jurard nodded approvingly. She said, "That's good. And you wear this every day?" Erandur nodded. Jurard smiled and said, "This is beautifully done. You should be proud."

Erandur only nodded. I couldn't believe it. I never would have guessed that he had been wearing that armor this whole time. The fact that his armor kept him both cool and warm at the same time was also awesome. I hoped that one day I could have some armor like his. What type of armor would I choose though? Most battlemages went with iron or steel, the heavier metals. Those were just the ones I saw walking around the university greeting every new recruit that walked through the main gate.

Jurard clapped her hands to get everyone's attention off of Erandur's armor. She said, "Don't get too excited. I know that we don't have a special class here for making armor, but every good battlemage makes his or her own armor." She pointed at the cloth vambraces on the ground. She said, "Everyone, put on a set of vambraces so we can begin tonight's class."

I snatched two of them and wrapped them around my furry claws and arms. I could feel it sit tight against my fur. Khajiits didn't normally wear anything on their hands or feet. Our fur got snagged on everything except fur armor, obviously. I guess if I needed to make my own armor, I'd go with a light covering of fur armor with glass plates welded or bolted to it for extra protection. I could already see the final result. I couldn't wait to make it a reality.

Jurard started to jog and said, "Ok, everyone. Follow me and keep pace." She took off like a lightning bolt. Davilia looked at me before she took off into a sprint. Erandur put his robe back over his head and took off as well. That feather effect must really work wonders because he was fast. As a Khajiit, I'm already fast, but because of my super-enhanced reflexes and endurance brought upon by the wonder stone of lightning, I could run faster than he could. I took off as well, catching up to Jurard before anyone else did.

I managed to run beside Erandur, asking him about his armor. He didn't seem up to chatting at the second, saying, "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we're running and I don't know for how long we'll be at it. If I remember anything about my father's daily ten mile runs…we won't be done for a while."

I looked back to see that everyone no one was struggling to keep up. They were soldier material, I guess. I hadn't trained very hard. I spent most of my time sneaking around Ayleid ruins instead of jogging the roadways. I wasn't sure where Jurard was taking us, but I'm guessing it was somewhere outside the city. I already felt discouraged about this run if it were going to be for ten miles. How long was ten miles anyway? I don't think I've ever stopped to think about it.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Another revised chapter. Next chapter is going to be much longer than it originally was. It was too short to begin with but I really wanted to move through the story before I started forgetting things I wanted to happen, knowing that I'd eventually go back and fix things so that everything seemed to tie together. Nice to get to do this while finishing up the story._


	8. Ch 8: Sen'la'gar

**Cearbhail:** _This is a very important chapter but it was very short the first time. I didn't elaborate on anything the first time but now...it's so involved that I almost wanted to create two chapters just so I could go through everything. Might do a bonus chapter for the new character Ri'dato... one of Vatu's ansestors who fought against the Ayleid war against them. This happened around the same time the Imperials started their take-over and the Ayleids were looking to save thier ownership of land by taking Elsweyr. That failed and the Ayleids pretty much got themselves killed between the two of them._

_Anyway, enjoy._

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><p>Ok, here's the less graphic version of what people are doing around me; vomiting, vomiting, and dunking their heads in Lake Rumare. Me? What am I doing? Well, I'm resting on one knee, grabbing my chest in a hopeless attempt to control my breathing. What are my two friends doing? Davilia is one of the people dunking their heads underwater, and Erandur is vomiting. There is a third type of reaction; the people who've sat down and can't get up because their legs don't want to work anymore. Some people have followed my lead and have rested on one knee while they caught their breath. One person trying my method fell sideways and was now resting on his back, grabbing his head in pain. He complained that he couldn't move. Honestly…neither could I.<p>

Jurard looked just fine. She didn't look winded, sweaty, or anything. I could see now just how lean she was. I thought she was skinny, but it was all just hidden muscle under no fat. I didn't notice it before we left the University because her muscles weren't active when we left. Now, they were all pulsing and showing off just how strong they were. Jurard paced around, looking at all of us. She gave us some time to relax before she said, "Oh come on; that was only four miles. You do realize we have to jog back, right?"

We all became silent as we looked up at her. There was a dead silence of anticipation and acceptance. I sighed and relaxed. That was only four miles? Imagine what ten would be like.

Jurard took a deep breath and looked out over the lake. "The Academy will make you run six miles almost every day. I will get you prepared for it. If you wish to get out of the program; let me know and I send you back to the Arcane University where you can brew your potions and study your spells while serious mages and battlemages go out and fight for your safety."

She waved everyone up and said, "Now, we have to begin our real training. You've all had your second wind, something you won't have in combat…well in between fights you might. These vambraces are designed to lighten the blows you throw when you punch your classmages. For the next month; we will practice your combative fist skills. The month after that; we will move up to swords or just any object you wish. You can bring daggers, swords, clubs, bows…I don't care what you bring. I'll make you efficient killers in no time. The month after that; we'll start on using your magic. A season is three months long. By the end of this season; you'll be seasoned warriors in the making."

I stood up and most of my fellow classmates followed my lead. Davilia was done soaking her head in the lake. Well, everyone started pulling their heads out of the water when Primrose got her ear nipped by a slaughterfish. We gathered around Jurard and she started paring us off for combat. My opponent was a Redguard by the name of Travis. He had a giant afro and he started holding up his arms while he jog/bounced in place. I had never seen anyone just jump in the same spot before. It was unsettling but I wasn't too worried about it. This was practice after all.

When Jurard blew the hypothetical whistle, my opponent decided to forgo the punching and went right in for a back-thrust kick. He moves almost like a shadow. One second he was spinning around, another his foot was already flying up for my stomach. He was fast, I'll give him that. I jumped back and let the kick straighten out. I grabbed onto his leg at the height of its stretch and pulled him forward. He leapt into the air; somehow twisted his own leg in, bent it, and somehow managed to bring his other leg up to my face. I only had a second to react.

I threw my head back and the leg just barely brushed my whiskers, triggering my sneeze effect. I sprayed his leg with my nose spray…by nose spray I'm sure we all know that I meant that I sprayed all my snot all over his leg. I couldn't help it…it wasn't like I did it on purpose. Brushing my whiskers made me sneeze. Well, my sneezing caused me to flinch, naturally…which also made me let go of his leg. He got free, but instead of hitting me or kicking me, he ran over to the lake to wash his leg off. I stood there in confusion. Was he a germaphobe? He finished washing off his leg and turned to glare at me.

He said, "Not cool, man." He charged back in, throwing punches for once.

I blocked punch after punch. It wasn't hard. Khajiits were better fist fighters than the other races, because we have claws. He was a boxer, I could tell. I started evading his attacks, just letting him attack me while I quickly moved out of his way. It was good training for both of us. He launched with his left and I side-stepped but his right came out instantly. He faked me out…and I tried to shift my stance to block it. I miscalculated. His other fist contacted with my stomach, which threw my torso forward. He caught me in the jaw with an uppercut with the same fist. I guess he also had time to bring a back-thrust kick in my stomach to send me flying through the air.

I'm not sure how long I flew off my feet. I'm not sure how long I lied on the ground. I'm not sure why I was losing this fight. I started to catch my breath but suddenly…

The lights went out.

"Vatu.."

"Vatu…"

"Ri'dato!"

My eyes opened up. Standing above me was a Khajiit with gray fur with black stripes running across his face. He reached down and picked me up. "Ri'dato. We're losing."

Then a voice…my voice said, "Then let us unleash our Sen'la'gar. We'll drive these Ayleids from our homeland once and for all."

It was all quick. I felt something inside me shift…an animal force pulled up from my stomach, pure red and fierce. It started out as a whisper and then it groaned its way up. Finally, my eyes clouded over with a red mist and I could see a mental image of a giant face of the mighty Senche. He opened his mouth and let out a loud roar…a loud roar that pulsed through my body. The hundreds of Ayleids that marched towards me and my friends meant nothing. I knew I could win. I roared my battle cry, followed by my claw-brothers. We charged in, fast and cunning. I looked at my first Ayleid and slashed out with my claws, happy to feel its flesh and blood welcoming my claws.

-Jurard-

All the fighting stopped when Vatu went down. I was watching the matches but when I saw Vatu get owned by Travis, I called an immediate cease. I rushed up to Vatu, checking his vitals. I checked his pulse. It was stable. He looked fine, he shouldn't be knocked out…but he was so there had to be something wrong.

I looked up at Travis. "What did you do, Travis?"

He shrugged. "I punched him. Then I kicked him and he landed on the ground. He was too good, I had to be serious."

I opened Vatu's eyes, hoping to see them focus on me. His orange eyes glanced at me and for a second I thought I had him back. Then his lens contracted and the iris shifted from orange to red. It was so sudden that I jumped back. Vatu continued to lay there on the ground, his body starting to tighten up. A low growl started to come up through his mouth and for a second I thought he was moaning. Then he jumped onto his feet, looking at Travis with his fangs and claws out for blood. He leaned forward and a hair-raising roar poured out of him. It had its own force behind it, forcing me back.

I looked away to shield my face. I looked back to see him standing there, still baring his fangs. "Dradiga'xishu zoa'aru!" He screamed. Then…he just seemed to vanish. Dust flew up where he stood and I managed to follow the trace of dirt to turn myself around. Vatu was already in front of Travis, growling out as he was reaching out to slash him. I wasted no time. I stuck out two of my fingers and launched some lightning at him. It flared up to his shoulder and pushed him forward. His hand stopped. His head looked back at me and I could feel his red eyes pouring all their hatred at me. Good, I had his attention.

Oh no…I had his attention. In the same speed he attacked Travis, he was flashing up to me. Flashing! He was flashing! Wait…he was flashing? That was a master level spell of combat. Good thing I knew how to flash as well. He caught me by surprise because I didn't expect him to flash but now that I knew he could…he wouldn't catch me by surprise now. He flew up to me and slashed, but I reached out with the same amount of strength and speed and grabbed him by his wrist. I wrenched his wrist and spun underneath his arm. I came up behind him and pinched his neck with my other hand. Feeling him come under control, I kicked his knee in and forced him to fall forward. I finished up by bashing the back of his head. I felt his body loosen and I let him fall to the ground.

"Erandur, come over here. I saw you fight with Davilia, you're good. Help me hold him down."

Erandur nodded and helped me brace his hands to the floor. "Ma'am, what just happened?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, but I didn't like it. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

-Vatu-

I stood over the dying bodies of the Ayleid invaders. The rest were retreating. I looked around. All my claw-brothers were still standing. One of them, who was bleeding badly, just now happened to look down and see that he was draining out. He reached out to grab his stomach. He groaned out and fell into the desert sand. I felt the power of Senche dissolve my body felt weak. I fell to my knees.

"Ri'dato. We won. Ri'dato?" My comrade walked up to me. "You don't look so good, brother. You should rest."

"Yes, but I will rest when we get back to our camp. There is bound to be a massive feast prepared for this evening." I said. We won. I could now rest. We could all rest.

"Vatu? Vatu, can you hear me?"

Vatu? Who's Vatu? Wait…

I felt my own body come back to me. I felt over-exhausted. Well, that and my head hurt. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. Jurard and Erandur had me pinned to the ground. I looked over at Jurard, who was looking at me with an almost shocked face. She said, "Vatu?"

I nodded and I felt some welled up pressure inside disappear. She nodded back at me and said, "Are you ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah? Why?"

"Ok, you're going to have a chat with J'skar when we get back to the university. We have some things we need to discuss with him." I nodded and for some reason my head started hurting. Jurard started letting go of me and so did Erandur. She helped me up onto my feet. "Vatu; stay out of this combat round until we can get you checked out. The rest of you; get back to fighting. Travis; your opponent is me."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Another revised chapter. Vatu sure is something...good thing Jurard is still a bad-ass though. Oh, the Khajiiti phrase his used. Dradiga'xishu zoa'aru. It means 'Prepare to die". Yup... anyway. More updates and new chapters to follow soon._


	9. Ch 9: Bloodrage feud

**Cearbhail: **_Another revised chapter. Vatu is back at the University and Jurard is sitting with Sister Marie. They're trying to figure out exactly what's wrong with Vatu... to no success._

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><p>I sat on some cheap plastic wrap on some flat uncomfortable bed with a kickstand while my Restoration instructor and Jurard both watched me. The past few hours have been unpleasant. The watching the fights, then running back, now I'm sitting here, having my teacher eyeball me with blood tests and physical examinations. Once we got here, Jurard calmly started explaining what she witnessed from me to Sister Marie. I sat there in shock. I didn't know I did any of that.<p>

In the middle of Jurard's explanation Sister Marie threw her arms up in disgust and worry. "Oh no! Not red eyes, anything but red eyes! Why didn't you mention this sooner?" She reached for some holy water and threw it in my face. "Be released from his body, you Daedra! Talos, guide this young soul back to his body." She started waving her hand in my face, feeding some healing magic in my face.

I narrowed my eyes. I should have expected this. Why oh why did we go to a priest to get a logical explanation on whatever happened? I looked up at Jurard. "Ma'am…is this really necessary?"

Jurard only shrugged and gave me her best sympathetic look. "Sister Arielle is a world renowned healer. I trust her judgment."

Sister Marie seemed to take what I said as a personal insult. Honestly, I didn't really care. She threw water in my face. That was an insult in Elsweyr. Cats hated water and when you lived in the desert…you didn't have a lot of water so wasting it on someone's face that wasn't on fire was a massive insult.

Jurard looked over at Sister Marie. "Sister, could it be possible that this is a Khajiit disease or condition perhaps?"

Sister Marie. "No, impossible. Only Daedra are capable to create such vile and deceitful changes in a person. No, I'm afraid that Vatu needs extensive purification and baptizing."

"That is a load of Imperial healer crap." J'skar walked in. "You healers think everything is the work of Daedra." He looked over at Jurard. "I heard your summons. Now, what is wrong?"

Jurard started telling J'skar the problems with me. When she got to the part where my eyes turned red, J'skar looked from her over to me. He turned his attention back to her and listened to the rest of her story with eyes that I noticed as…he already knew what was going on. Good, maybe he knew what happened then.

He grabbed Jurard's shoulder. "I understand and I will provide a cure…" He looked over at Sister Marie. "No baptizing." He looked over at me. "Did she throw water in your face already?"

I nodded. "Yes, holy water."

He scoffed. "Such disrespect and waste of water."

Sister Marie crossed her arms. "I released the unholy Daedra from his body. It was not a waste."

J'skar sighed but instead of fighting with her, he turned to me. "You've had a long day. You might want to get some rest so that tomorrow you can perform well in your classes." He walked away from me and turned to Jurard. He said, "There is nothing wrong with him; he's Khajiit. Tomorrow, I'll give him something that will keep this from happening again." He walked to the doorway and turned around to bow at Jurard before he stepped out.

So, J'skar knew for certain what was wrong with me and it was a Khajiit thing. It seemed to upset him though.

Jurard rubbed her eyes in exhaustion and said, "Sister Arielle, what is your professional opinion?"

Sister Marie only shrugged and said, "It's not poison, not anything supernatural. If it was supernatural, the holy water would have taken care of it. He wasn't possessed by any wraith, or ghost. It's like there was nothing causing this. This is beyond anything I've ever encountered before."

I was shocked. I heard some logical sense from her for once.

Jurard nodded and said, "Ok, Vatu. You're free to go. For safety reasons; I have to have someone watch you. You way come inside now."

The door opened up and my newest friend walked into the room. Nexa stood in the doorway, dressed in her armor with a straight but saw-toothed sword attached to her belt.

She bowed to Jurard and said, "Shadowscale Nexa; reporting as ordered, ma'am."

Jurard nodded back and said, "Shadowscale Nexa. My apprentice here has seemed to lose the ability to control his temper. Take good care of him and if he attacks someone; do whatever it takes to knock him out, but no killing him. The signs you need to look out for are eye color change as well as his hair rising straight up. Got it?"

Nexa nodded. "What color do his eyes change to?" There was a hint of…malice in her words.

"Red." Jurard turned to her. "Why?"

"I just want to know what to look out for." She grabbed me by the hand and said, "Come on, warrior. Let's get you into bed. I can guess that you're tired." Then she pulled me out of the room.

She continued to talk normally until we were out of earshot of anyone walking around. She glanced around casually and then pulled me into the shadows of the alleyway we first met in. She covered my mouth, threw me against the wall gently, and unsheathed a dagger I hadn't noticed before. She placed it to my stomach. "I know what's wrong with you; shut up and listen or it may cost you your life."

I didn't feel threatened by her, but her harsh voice did make me want to slash her throat. Visions of seeing her bleeding under my claw started to excite me and I didn't know why. I mentally shook my head clear. What was wrong with me? My claw was itching to dig itself into her neck.

She said, "You know that the Khajiits and the Argonians used to war all the time. You know that you chased us off your homeland when we invaded, killing select members of your pride lands. Do you know why we invaded? Do you know what we fear the most from your kind?"

I shook my head. I knew that the Argonians wouldn't leave their marshlands to attack us, but they did send shadowscales to assassinate us, which led to a war in the marshlands. We lost and ventured home. Since then the Khajiit and Argonians have been less than friends but not entirely enemies. I could see that history was starting to repeat itself and I was hoping Nexa and I wouldn't be enemies, but the way she had her dagger out and pointed at my stomach told me different. I wondered if I was going to die tonight.

She said, "Some of you Khajiits are like ogres when you get angry. Your eyes turn red and you become fast, hard to track, hard to hit, and even harder to kill. You don't feel pain, you don't feel blood, you don't even feel your own death until your eyes change back. We have a word for it; bloodrage. Any Khajiit with bloodrage eyes is killed on sight. That law in Argonia is still in act. As a shadowscale, I should gut you right here and then go slot your sister. You're lucky I like you, or as a shadowscale fighting for Argonia; I would kill you. You crazy red-eyed Khajiits are rare today. Most of you were killed off but I guess some of you survived with this amazing blood-shedder gene."

She pushed me away and said, "Come now. I will not kill you and you don't have to worry about that anymore. As you begin to understand your new…mental condition, you shall soon understand how to control it. Keep it away from other Argonians. You never know who is listening and who is a spy anymore these days." She started to walk down the alley.

I followed behind her. It was amazing just how well she blend in with the shadows of the evening. Even with my nocturnal vision, I found myself double-looking to see if it was her moving. We got out of the crawl space and she turned to face me.

She cleared her throat. "Look, Vatu. I know I scared you back there but I want to reinforce that you and I…are not enemies. Consider us allies." She stuck out her hand. She was waiting for a response.

I shook her hand and said, "This might be a first; a Khajiit and an Argonian not trying to kill each other." She didn't find my joke all that funny and she turned around to run off. I stood there and watched. I guess the only fighting between Khajiits and Argonians was over land and Leyawiin. Back on Morrowind; we were allies in slavery.

I slowly made my way back to my bed. I noticed that my sister was already tucked in and sleeping quietly. What was I going to tell her? If I had this thing…she likely had it as well. If she began to develop it, Nexa might be forced to kill her. I shook my head. No, she promised that she wouldn't do anything of the sort. Besides, J'skar was working on a cure. I'd be free from this in no time and then so would Nisha. I lied down as quietly as I could and almost instantly; I was out.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Oh those funny healers with their holy water that cures everything. Oh and Nexa is definately going to kill him one day. Yeah...won't that be exciting to watch. Can't wait until I start the sequel story and get that ball rolling. Anyway, more revisions and postings to follows. Enjoy and review if you can. Let me know what I need to do better so I can do better._


	10. Ch 10: Blurred Day

**Cearbhail: **_Another revised chapter. This chapter is based on... well, have you ever had a very busy day, or very active day? One where you tried out a new exercise and then the next morning and all day you just felt...displaced? Where you walk around and the day just...wisks by? Well, this is what Vatu is experiencing so this chapter just...wizzes by. Sorta._

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><p>I'm sure you could tell that my day was well…interesting. I wish that I spent more of the day actually paying attention to what was going on around me. I was tired, sore, and my head was hurting from last night's little freak out. It was weird; it was like the whole thing was a nothing but a blur with lucid moments that disappeared into a liquid mist.<p>

The Destruction class pretty much breezed by. I mean, I was interested in what J'skar said but he already knew that me resting my head on the desk was acceptable. Davilia was no different. She lied there, not even interested in her book that casually lied in front of her. Halfway through the class, we had to practice our elemental energy. My elemental specialty turned out to be electricity. Still, I knew only one electric spell…Shock. I guess I'm not the only one stuck in a haze. Erandur looked at J'skar with eyes half-opened and glazed over, while Davilia continued to sleep with her eyes open.

After class was done, J'skar accompanied me to the dining hall, where he grabbed an apple and followed me outside. He told me about our history and what it meant to me as a…special Khajiit.

"Our race is a race of mighty warriors. Our champions used to use this power…your power to charge over our enemies when they tried to invade us. We call it "Sen'la'gar": the 'Red eyes of Senche'. Most Khajiits with this trait died off in the many wars we had so it became a blessing to be born with it. Well, today it is more like a curse. We barely war often and when we do, such bloodshed is often looked upon with intense hatred. In the past; it gave us respect. Today, it gives us a noose for our necks with priests condemning us to Mehrunes Dagon."

"Our enemies? Just how many people did we fight? I had a dream where I was leading a charge of Khajiits into a battle with Ayleids." I looked up at J'skar.

He nodded. "You name it, we've fought it. First it was the Ayleids, then it was the Imperials who followed them. When we started to migrate out, some of our tribes were taken by Redguards and sold to the Dunmer for slaves. The Argonians were no different. We're beasts so we're allowed to be treated as such, it appears. If man weren't trying to tame us, the elves were. Summerset tried to dominate us to make us into warriors. Valenwood has been our only ally, if not because the Bosmer feel pity for us since they can telepathically read our thoughts and feelings. They understand us better than most of us will ever know ourselves. When Black Marsh found out about our special warriors…they tried to kill us off. So, we invaded. We're still fighting them in small royal skirmishes with what's left of our Eyes of Senche warriors; our Sengar."

How did I not know any of this? I drank milk when I was a cub and yet…I didn't recall any of this information in my vast knowledge of our past. "So…what am I?"

J'skar sneered. "The Dunmer enslaved us and when our fighters fought them…we were slain. So many of my family was in Morrowind. Thank the gods that slavery is banned in Morrowind now." He finished his apple and looked at me. He said, "Your Sen'la'gar is not a problem. You activate it when you're in a life-or-death situation. Since that was the first time you used it; you couldn't control it. Luckily, I have this magic ring that will keep you from unleashing it."

He pulled out a small ring. He slid it on my finger and said, "This ring will bind with your finger until you slide it off. You'll never have to worry about losing it because it can only move when you move it yourself. This ring will trap your Sen'la'gar so that it never slips out. This is your medication…that blasted woman wanted you on meds because she thought demons possessed you. Stupid Breton."

"So, sir…what am I?"

"You are Khajiit. You are what's left of an old chaste of royal war leaders. They led our fighters into battle when we were supposed to be outnumbered and outmatched. Our pride leaders sent us in first to prove to them the strength and ferocity of our prides. One battle would be all it would take to make our enemies sick of combat. We would send others like you out in the frontlines to deter the enemy from wanting to fight us. Now I understand why your aura was so strong. You may not be a great mage, but with your Sen'la'gar, you are the strongest thing on this planet. Stronger than any dragonborn, any Daedra general, and more powerful than any lich."

J'skar stood up and walked away. "Don't worry about it, Vatu. I'll tell you more later but for now…just wear the ring and relax." He walked into the mages quarters, bowing to me before he disappeared into a yellow mist.

The rest of my afternoon just seemed to go through the motions. I felt a lot better with the ring on my finger, though. It was like half my struggle to keep myself well…myself was over. I felt whole, not split in two. With that, my headache was gone and my muscles weren't twitching to strike out at something.

My enchanting class was easy. Jurard noticed that half of us were asleep in our seats when she entered the classroom. She looked at me and my group of friends, as well as the other battlemages resting behind her. "I know, I know but…" She picked up the largest book she could find and lifted it as high as she could. She slammed the giant book on her desk and all of us bounced up in our seats as a giant shockwave of dust and magic flew all across the room. We all coughed but I guess it worked because we were all awake now.

She opened up the floor with, "All of you who passed Dagger magicka-weaving yesterday will start on magicka-weaving soul gems. I should have started you on this yesterday; but I'm working backwards." She explained why magicka-weaving was easier with soul gems. Soul gems actually could hold the energy easier and it never left. Not to mention; when the soul gem was full you could tell how powerful your blades would be when infused. We were working with our greater soul gems now. We had to fill them up and do it every day starting from scratch until we could fill them up in one hour's time. This was Phase 2. Regardless to say; none of us could do it. Not even Davilia or I could fill up our soul gem.

Lunch was not enjoyable. I sat with Davilia and Erandur. We looked at our food with mild disinterest. It didn't look appetizing and my stomach protested anything to do with food. Finally, Nisha walked up to us, all smiles. "You should really eat. Don't you have stuff to do tonight? That means your body needs fuel. Now, eat!" She screamed at us. Yeah, my sister managed to talk us into eating.

Restoration was no more fun than Destruction was. Sister Marie easily made us feel bored while she continued her rant about the gods and their divine purpose. I guess we'll eventually start working on energy healing. We have three months of this one class…over something most people know how to do.

Dinner was light. I didn't feel like eating much and I could tell that my friends felt as bad as I did. Nisha stood over us, giving us the same lecture she gave us earlier the day. The entire dining hall looked over at us, confused as to why a four foot Khajiit was standing on a table, pointing down at us and telling us to eat. She actually rallied the whole dining area to root us on while we ate some rice for our training session. Poor Davilia…she looked like she was going to blush herself to death with all the attention she was getting.

We all decided that we were going to the training tonight regardless of our condition. We didn't want to fall behind and we would fall behind if we skipped even one session of BA training. Honestly, what could possibly go wrong?

…

…

As far as training went, it could have been worse. We didn't jog tonight. We never left the lake, because we spent all night swimming laps in it. Jurard gave us all necklaces of 'warding'. It kept all creatures twenty feet away from us. We never got bit, we were never attacked. I guess Jurard knew that we were all tired from yesterday and she was giving us a nice warm up for the weekend. She dragged us out of the water to make us fight again.

My opponent this time was her. She wanted to fight me in case I went berserk a second time. She opened up with an open palm to my face. I raised both of my hands to block. It still threw me back and she was all over me again with another palm. I decided to fight back. I couldn't keep blocking forever.

I saw her right palm coming in for a strike. I brought my right arm in and deflected the attack away from me. I lowered my arm, bent it slightly, and pushed my hips forward. I arm-slammed her in stomach, which threw her back a solid inch before she brought her knee up to hit me in the chest. I brought my own knee up and I shin slammed her. Both of us jumped back. I could tell I did some damage. She locked eyes with me and bowed. I must admit; I enjoy fighting. We went four more rounds before she called it.

After that training; I didn't feel like crap anymore. My friends and I hung out in the Waterfront District, where we ate out at the Bloated Float. Since it was Freedas, we had the next two days off. Class wouldn't start again until Morndas morning. It was because of this that we decided to spend the night at the Bloated Float instead of walking all the way back to the university to sleep in our noisy rooms with all the late night party animal Bretons.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Yes, those Bretons and their late night party antics. Busting out the brews of potions and examining just how that potion shrinks someone's head. Or how they enchant someone's sheets to shink when they get into the bed so they feel like they've been short-changed and then they take apart their entire bed sheets to find out that they were enchanted and that they could have fixed it with one wave of their finger... man those crazy Bretons and their antics... almost makes you want to...I don't know, slot them.._


	11. Ch 11: The Bloody Float

**Cearbhail: **_Ok, so here we are. I'm sure you knew this was coming from the very start of the last chapter. The fabled Bloated Float... MHUHAHAHAHA... anyway, yes, based off the quest... will play out so differenty you won't know which was the head turns.. the Orc's head... MHUHAHAHAHHAHA... anyway, enjoy (the blood) (MHUHAHAHAHAHHA)_

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><p>I'm guessing you know what happened. We slept in the Bloated Float; a working ship that was turned into an inn. The evening we had was fun at least. We ate some different cooking paid for by Erandur and we all pitched in for our rooms. It's not like I spent all my money on just getting to the university. I still had plenty of it left and it was usually stored in my belt pouch. Well, I normally carried 100 gold equivalent pieces. Enough for a couple days' worth of survival."<p>

Erandur was back to being his overly happy, smiley self. It was like he had a switch, when he was training, he was dead serious and he didn't joke. When he was alone with us…he acted like an uncoordinated goofball. It was so unlike any Altmer I've ever met. Davilia seemed to be warming up to us, enough to where she agreed to come hang out for the night without having her nose in her book every second of it. Thinking back, I wish I had had enough time to go back and bring Nisha. The two of them were good friends and she would have enjoyed this.

That…was four hours ago. And I'm glad I didn't go back to get her, but I wish we had all just gone back instead. You see, this wasn't the little vacation away from home we planned. I went to sleep and about two hours later, I heard my door open. I thought maybe it was Davilia coming in to ask me a question or maybe even Erandur to play a trick…even though I wouldn't expect that from any regular Altmer…just Bretons and Bosmer…and other Khajiits. So, when I opened my eyes, you can guess my surprise at seeing a Redguard with a pillowcase hovering just over my body.

I didn't have time to react. A weird noise came from my doorway and I suddenly felt stiff, like I could move. I was tied up, thrown over someone's shoulder, and carried somewhere. I was thrown down and only then did the Redguard pull the pillowcase off my head. Looking around, I was in a storage room. Sitting beside me were Davilia and Erandur. We weren't alone. There was one other prisoner. He was the Orc bouncer that helped serve the drinks. He was thrashing against his ropes, trying to scream curses through the tied up gauze or something.

Then there were the guards. There was the Redguard swordfighter, he looked like. There was also a Breton. She wore basic robes but her glowing hands told me that she was a dangerous mage. The Redguard walked up to the Orc as he started thrashing even harder against his ropes, actually starting to rip them, and he struck him on the head. The Orc crumpled over and as far as I knew…the Orc was dead.

I looked around the place. There weren't a lot of options I could use. There were the two guards; one male Redguard, one female Breton with a glowing fist. I knew that I couldn't take them both; not with my arms tied behind my back. The Breton looked like a sorcerer. It was like a battlemage only without the swords and clubs. They still dressed up in heavy armor but they mostly blasted elemental magic everywhere instead of using a good sword up close. If I were to do anything, my friends might get fried.

I looked at Davilia. She looked scared stiff. I'm guessing we all just got dragged out of bed and gagged. I looked over at Erandur, who looked contemplative. He neither looked worried or threatened. He just looked…calm. Did he know something that I didn't know? Our prisoners didn't want us talking to each other so they kept us gagged. I can understand why. They didn't look threatened by us, though. We were children; what could we possibly do to a bunch of adults with swords and armor? If they untied me, I'd show them.

As far as I could tell, we spent an hour or two sitting in the hub of the closet. I thought about slipping in and out of sleep, and I might have too, but…I was worried that something would happen. Erandur might have tried to get free, but with just his basic Fireball spell, he didn't dare budge. They stripped us of all clothing when they bound us with rope. So, that meant that they took Erandur's armor away from him. The Breton could tell it was enchanted and she planned on selling it to the highest bidder when they found whatever it was that they were looking for. As far as I knew, she didn't know any of us were battlemage trainees. Not too sure what that information would do to us if they found out.

The Redguard noticed that the Orc was starting to move again and he grunted. He walked up to the Orc and kicked him in the stomach. The Orc spat up some blood that splashed onto my fur and passed back out. The Redguard scoffed as he wiped some of the Orc's blood off his chin. He looked at us and smirked.

He looked at his partner and said, "Hey, Anya? Can you believe we're here babysitting?"

She crossed her arms. She said, "And student mages at that! Like they could even escape their rope." She pointed at his sword and said, "Why don't you just kill them so we can leave?"

Kill us? I sure hope that didn't happen.

He looked down at us and shrugged. "We aren't here to kill anyone. If we keep hostages; we'll have a better time getting away from the Imperial Legion."

She looked down at the Orc and said, "What about him, Stros? He's a liability."

Stros grinned at the Orc and walked up to him. He patted the Orc on the cheek and said, "Wakey, wakey." The Orc's eyes started to gain life. Stros stood up and put his foot on the Orc's throat. He said, "I wouldn't want you to miss this, Orc." He slowly slid his cutlass into the Orc's stomach. The Orc cried out in pain. He slid the cutlass up slowly, making him cry out in more misery as he continued to cut. He finally heard the cries from the Orc fade. He quickly slid the cutlass up, cutting him past the neck. He brought his sword around and slashed the head off.

I closed my eyes. It didn't matter. We were in a closed space. I could feel the blood raining down on me. I heard Davilia muffle out her horrified scream. Erandur just groaned as he felt the blood rain pour on him. Once I felt it was over; I opened my eyes and looked around. The Orc's body was strung up in front of us, dripping out onto the floor. The walls were covered in the Orc's blue blood. I looked over at Davilia, who looked like she was in shock. She didn't even look like she was breathing. Erandur looked furious but still patiently waiting for the right time to act.

A blue image started forming in front of me. It was Erandur. He looked over at me and said, "Vatu, remain calm. We'll get out of this…alive. We just have to be patient. Don't do anything reckless. They want prisoners alive; that means that they'll keep us alive _if_ we cooperate. Got it?" I didn't' get a chance to answer. The blue image faded away and I glanced over at Erandur, who only nodded at me, Orc blood dripping off his eyebrows and ear-tips.

For the hour that followed; we stayed silent. We were scared shitless about what was going to happen to us. I could have snapped these ropes, but what good would it do? I wasn't great at fighting yet and the only weapons I had were my claws. My spells were all close range; I had to reach my target first. I knew that I could corrode Stros's weapon if I got up close, but after that I was dead. That Breton's hand trembled with powers I knew I couldn't defend against. If I got to her first and somehow killed her, the Redguard would kill me with his cutlass.

I just felt helpless and I knew that my friends felt no different. I could take one, sure. That would ultimately give my friends another splash of blood to their faces and one less friend to talk to. I hoped that no one tried to be a hero today. We weren't ready.

Another couple hours passed and we heard footsteps approaching us. Davilia had passed out a while ago. Poor girl must have blacked out. Erandur was still just sitting there, staring blankly at the door in front of us. The door flew open and in walked an Imperial with a chip on her shoulder and a scowl on her lips. Stros nodded to her and said, "Captain?"

She looked at us and said, "We have a problem."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Blood blood go away, come again some other day... ok, that was creepy. Anyway, Erandur was kinda cool with his Psijic stuff he just did. Telepathic messaging. And yes, he messaged Davilia too, mostly whispering in her ear and telling her that he'll take care of her. Not their first telepathing conversation either... Oh wait... I'm getting ahead of the story already. more to follow_


	12. Ch 12: Bloodmayne Cave

**Cearbhail:** _Wow, long chapter. I was surprised at just how long this turned out. But, that's fine with me. The longer it is...the more detailed it is. And this chapter is kinda important. This is where they start to become a close team. Erandur starts calling Davilia Dav...her new nickname. Vatu starts actually wondering who exactly these guys are as far as who they were before they came to the university. And Davilia well...She's pretty much Sakura (before Shippuden) right now..._

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><p>We were still sitting in the blood covered closet with Anya as our guard. Stros had left with their captain and for the last two minutes, we didn't hear anything. With my fine-tuned Khajiit ears, I could hear arguing, yelling, and then someone screaming. The screaming suddenly stopped and something hit the ground. Yeah, it sounded like someone just died.<p>

I looked over at my friends. Erandur was the only one who looked like he understood what had just happened and when I looked at him, he just nodded.

_"Yes, Vatu. I felt it too."_

Felt it? I didn't feel it, I heard it. At least he was conserving his telepathy for just hearing instead of seeing it as well. I hoped he wouldn't waste too much of his energy on his little one way conversations. I looked over at Davilia, who was still out cold from the shock of being rained blood on. She hadn't moved since then. I was afraid that she somehow scared herself to death. If it wasn't for the fact that I could see her chest rise and fall, I wouldn't guess that she was breathing.

A minute later, Stros walked back into the room and looked over at Anya. "We need to gather the prisoners for transport."

She looked at him. "We're at Bloodmayne Cave?"

"As close as we're going to get by sea. Captain waited until it was pitch black outside to pull us up onto the shore. It's a good mile run and with kids it'll be harder."

Davilia started opening her eyes again. Good, she was awake. Oh wait…it would have been better if she stayed asleep. Now she would be awake for the transporting. That would only be more stress on her.

_"No, if Davilia stayed asleep, they would have counted her as dead weight. They would have killed her. It's good she heard me calling her."_

I sighed. "_Erandur…stop wasting your magicka. We might need all our strength to escape._"

"_Guys, can you hear me?"_

What the Oblivion? Now Davilia was communicating with me? _"There are too many other voices other than myself in my head for my liking. Please stop it. Wait…can you guys read my thoughts?"_

_"Can you read mine?" _Erandur thought.

I stopped to think about it. No, I really couldn't. I couldn't get anything from his head at all.

_"I cannot read your thoughts, Vatu. I can only transmit messages back and forth through the Mental Plane. I could pull us in for a visual exchange, but it would not only be taxing but we wouldn't be here to keep our eyes on these guys. For an easier explanation, we're communicating over psychic messages."_

_"So…what are we going to do?" _That was Davilia

Anya shrugged. "I'm not worried. I'll cast Feather on them and we'll just carry them to the site. If they make a fuss, I'll slit their feet and leave them for the vampires to get. So…did we find the Golden Galleon?"

Stros brushed his goatee. "No, that's what the problem was about. The owner told us under threat of death that it doesn't exist. He's dead and even with his last breath; he smiled and said we're fools. Now, we have Imperial Legion guys on boats looking for us and two dead captives. We have a price on our heads…and we have nothing to show for it. So, we're taking the hostages as bargaining chips in case the Legion finds us."

I honestly couldn't believe that they just said all of that in front of us. It was a dumb move on their part but I couldn't do anything anyway. I looked at Davilia to see what was going on in her mind. She just started at them blankly. I looked over at Erandur to see the wheels on his head turning. I think he was planning something. What really got me was the fact that we'd been missing for at least a whole day. Even though we didn't have classes, Jurard still wanted us for training on the weekends. We never showed up. I wondered if she knew what happened to us.

_"I wish I could tell her, but my telepathy only works for people I can see in front of me. I can't reach her."_ Erandur thought.

_"Guys, I'm scared, I'm wet, and I'm cold. I just wish we could go back home."_ Davilia was starting to freak out again. I could hear her hyperventilating through her gag.

_"Dav…just stay calm. We'll get through this. I'm working on something and I need us all to stay calm if we're all to get out of this. We don't know how many more thieves are on board this ship and to be honest…I don't think we could even take the mage in front of us without one of us dying. I'd rather wait and see what happens. If you can't calm down by the situation…just remember that we can communicate now. We're here; remember that…we are here."_ Erandur's voice even calmed me down. He was right; we weren't alone in our own heads. We were in this together.

Stros walked up to Erandur and lifted him off his feet. He threw Erandur over his shoulder and turned to Davilia. He walked up to her and snagged her as well. She squealed through her muffled mouth. Stros lifted her up to his eye level and said, "You will keep that mouth shut or I'll slide my sword through it. We've killed two already; I can add more."

_"Oh my gods…oh my gods…if I weren't gagged, I'd probably throw up I'm so scared. I'm so scared…"_ Davilia's thoughts started racing through her mind and with Erandur still focusing on keep up connected, I could hear every thought up word in her head. _"What if he does stab me? Will it hurt? How fast will I bleed out? Who will tell my dad that I'm dead? Will he come and find my killer? Will he even know? Why is he looking at me like that? Why do I feel so…weird?"_

I looked up at Stros. I could see it. He had hunger in his eyes. He had a young Dunmer who was barely dressed and I could see just how badly he wanted it…it was disgusting. I was going to kill him once I got out of these bonds.

_"Dav…calm down. He won't hurt you."_

Stros threw Erandur down and released Davilia. "Ok…if you walk where we say to and stay near me…we won't kill you…for now." He pulled me onto my feet. "Listen to me, cat. You even look at me like that again, and I'll make you into my newest winter coat."

That line again? Oh please, these guys needed better material.

So, they let us walk as long as we walked in silence. They walked us off of the boat and we jumped from the ship into the waist deep water. The water was cold and since we were pushed off the boat…we pretty much landed face first. We almost drowned but our gracious capturers decided it was best to just stand there for a couple seconds to let some type of message sink in about just how well we were going to be treated for the rest of the day.

When we finally made it on shore, the cold wind hit my mostly naked body. Like I said earlier, we were stripped of all our clothing but our undergarments. I was only wearing a Khajiit loincloth and since my fur was wet…it felt like having no protection from the cold at all. It was dark outside. I looked around so see what I was up against. There were several thieves, including the captain waiting further up the shore. With the two behind us; I knew that there was no way we'd escape like this. I silently exhaled and let my body slip down into stealth mode. I wasn't trying to get away; heck, I was tied to a leash that wrapped ten times around my arms and chest. I wasn't going anywhere.

They walked us up on shore where the cold wind started blowing on us. We were wet; so of course we were cold. Erandur probably had it harder since he was an Altmer. My friends and I being cold and wet didn't matter for long. The Dunmer scout, Minx I think her name was, called the all clear and everyone took to sprinting past the road with us trying to keep up. It was hard when you couldn't swing your arms; bet you didn't know that. I sure didn't until today.

After a gods-awful mile sprint with your mouth gagged and arms tied up…running up and down wet soggy plants from the day's earlier rainfall and mud while being not dressed at all…we arrived at some hidden entrance to this cave in the middle of the woods. We were shuffled into the corner of the room and thoroughly tied to some poles planted deep within the clay-based floor. They waited until we were tied down before the Breton, Anya, walked up to Erandur and showed him his armor.

She smiled and said, "We might have not gotten our pay for the Golden Galleon, but your armor is about to make up for it." She smiled at him as she walked away. Erandur struggled to break free of his rope but he couldn't do a thing.

_"That was a gift from my father! I swear if I never see that armor again, I'm going to make your entire gang face the wrath of the entire Imperial Legion. You will know suffering like no one's ever suffered before. I will personally see to your torturing myself!"_ Erandur sighed glanced over at me. _"I guess ranting and threatening would work better if I could talk to her."_

We sat there, talking to each other. Davilia kept complaining about being cold, although as my fur started to dry, she started to compliment me on how warm my fur was. I guess she was getting over being shy if she could actually give me a compliment. Erandur just spent the time venting over his armor. When I asked who his father was, he just looked away. He didn't want to answer that. _"You won't look at me the same way if you found out. I just want to be normal."_

Normal? He was the strangest Altmer I've ever met. He was far from normal, period. That raised a question. Who was Davilia's father? I didn't know anything about my friends and I sudden felt like I had too. This…experience…it brought us closer, not matter what happens, we'd always be connected to each other by this experience.

An hour later, they decided to let us eat for the first time since they caught us. I honestly thought that they were going to let us starve to death. The Imperial captain chose that time to introduce herself. She walked up with her hands on her hips and a cutlass latched to her belt. Her leather cuirass had some black logo burned into it that read '_Blackwater Brigands_' under the branding.

She looked at us and said, "My name is Selene. If you stay quiet and don't cause any trouble, we will release you in one week once we get in contact with the rest of my gang. Until then, you will do as you're told. If you don't; we will kill you. Understood?"

We all nodded. There really was nothing we could do. The thought that I could do something kept trying to creep into my head, but the fact that me breaking loose and slaughtering her wouldn't do me any good. I couldn't take on the other seven thieves without being killed first and then my friends would be left alone. No, I wouldn't do something stupid; I would wait. Khajiits are great at waiting. The prey would eventually do something stupid.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_So, I guess things are not looking up. They're now away from a boat that was being tracked and now in a cave in the middle of nowhere where no one knows where they are. How are they going to get away now?_


	13. Ch 13: Hans the Hardy

**Cearbhail:** _They're still in a cave. yeah... that's about it._

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><p>Three days have passed; at least that's what the door with the light shining through it tells me. I keep track of the days by looking at how the light hits the door for twelve hours and then it doesn't for twelve. Our captors finally took the gags off of our mouths this morning, thinking that soon they could release us because their sister gang was on its way up to meet up with them. That was fine with me; Erandur was almost dead from all the magicka he used to fuel our telepathic conversations. My legs are weak, my arms are weak, and my spirit is weak. Even though our gags were off our mouths, we hadn't spoken to each other yet with our mouths yet. I was the only one that was awake and that knew the gag was off.<p>

I wanted to wake them up but we've slept so little. You could say that we're on watch duties. I'm the one awake at the moment, so I'm the one on watch. They deserved some rest. I'm not sure how exactly I felt about our situation. I mean…Selene said that we would be free to go once she left, but…would that really be the end of it? She was a bandit…a bloodthirsty bandit. So…the best way to deal with prisoners is to not let them go. That would be a loose end. After all, we would directly go straight to the guards and tell them everything that we did. Selene's best interests dictated that she killed us. I hoped she was dumb enough to believe that scared kids would be scared kids.

My morning of being the only one awake was shaken by our morning meal. Davilia and Erandur woke up long enough to eat some food and then they fell back asleep. Davilia muttered something about my fur being so warm that it made her sleepy. I guess they weren't getting used to my constantly warm fur. So, here I was, sitting here by myself waiting for Erandur to wake up next so I could get some shut eye. I heard someone was approaching the door to the caverns. In walked Anya; who had been missing for the past few days. In fact; we hadn't seen her around since she walked away with Erandur's armor. Selene noticed her almost as soon as I did.

I watched as Selene walked up to Anya, screaming, "Where have you been?"

Anya smiled and tossed three large bags of what I assumed where septims to Selene. Selene looked into the bags, seemingly impressed. She looked back up at Anya and said, "What? How did you get these? Did you rob a bank?"

Anya shook her head. She said, "It took three days, but I found a mage at the Mages Guild who would pay me 5,000 septims for that brat's armor." She crossed her arms and proudly nodded in her delight.

Selene didn't look so happy, though. She said, "Ok, let me get this straight. You know these kids are mages and someone knows they're missing by now. If anyone knows that one of them had this armor…we could be in deep trouble. We need to move before someone finds that armor and sends someone to find them."

I smiled. Yes, something was finally turning our way.

Selene pointed at us. "Quick, kill them so we can leave. We can't just leave them here for the others to find."

What? I was right? Anya's hands started glowing with fire and lightning. This was it…I was going to die. I couldn't even reach my ring to pull it off. And if I did…would I somehow be strong enough to break through these ropes? Wait…I could use magic. We hadn't yet because we didn't want to be killed if there was a chance that we could get away without fighting. That option was no longer available. I nudged Erandur and Davilia. _"Guys, it's time to fight."_

"By the order of the Imperial Battlemages, you have committed the worst type of crime imaginable." A loud booming voice echo through the cave. I looked around frantically to see who spoke, but I didn't see anything. Almost instantly, the place quieted down. The air became cooler and there was a certain silence that filled everything. Davilia and Erandur were now just waking up.

Selene and Anya looked around frantically. Selene said, "Yeah? And what was that?"

The door that I had been watching for the past three days exploded into wood chips and dust. There, walked in the bulkiest Nord I had ever seen. He was covered head-to-toe in golden painted Steel armor. The very ground shook beneath his every step. His face was painted with a giant blue hand print. Behind him were two other armored people; one of them was Jurard. I knew it! They were battlemages. They were looking for us after all. The Nord crossed his arms. "You stole our children. That is an insult to our honor and now…we're here to redeem ourselves."

Selene wasted no time at all before she drew her blade and slashed at the Nord. The Nord raised one finger and brought it up to the sword. Selene slashed with all her strength at the Nord, but he didn't look worried. The sword came down on his finger and just like that….the entire blade exploded into dust. Selene stood there in shock. After all, her sword was gone in a matter of a second. With the same finger from the Nord, a large wad of lightning arced out and blasted her across the room. I watched as Selene landed on the ground, steam flowing off her cooked body. He turned his attention to the giant gathering of archers across the small rock bridge.

Jurard wasn't sitting there either. As soon as the Nord blew up the sword; Jurard flashed up to Anya. Anya already started plating herself in conjured armor. That didn't help her once Jurard slashed with her two enchanted daggers. Anya seemed to know enough to fight her. They started to fight with enchanted weapons and exploding spells. I heard Anya yell, "You battlemages think you're all that. Sorcerers are just as good as you are."

The third battlemage wasn't fighting at all. She was sprinting her way over to us. Once she got to us, she looked at our tied bodies to the pole. "No traps." She looked at us and said, "Just sit tight; I'll have you out of there in no time." She smiled at me as best as she could. "Just trust Hans and Jurard to keep the others busy until I'm done."

Davilia looked at me and said, "What have we missed?"

I said, "Well, Anya sold Erandur's armor to some mages at the Mages Guild that ended up being a trap to send a squad of battlemages to their hiding place. And…they found us."

I wanted to see the fight so I ignored the rest of Davilia's questions. She decided to start talking to Erandur, who felt like talking as well. It felt nice to talk with my mouth instead of thinking of responses and just thinking that everyone could understand me.

The Nord was quick on his feet for such a big guy. Anya was busy with Jurard and the Nord was fighting three archers who were across some giant pit with only one short rock bridge. I watched as the Nord actually stood there, letting the archers shoot arrows at him. He brought up his claymore and actually deflected them away with the ease of swatting a fly. He moved his sword so quickly and effortlessly that I could swear that the sword didn't even exist. It was unreal. Jurard was having a magic shoot off with Anya. They seemed on equal terms. It was a good thing I decided to not fight Anya when I thought I had a chance. I really didn't.

Our ropes finally snapped off and our Nord blew a whistle through her lips. The larger bulkier Nord noticed the whistle and nodded to Jurard. He screamed in a loud war cry and a giant red flame covered his massive sword. He swung it with all his might and the fire rolled off his sword in a massive wave of fiery death. It rolled across the cave and splashed over the archers. They screamed out in pain as they were cooked alive. They were incinerated almost instantly

Jurard unsheathed one of her daggers and side-stepped an air-borne Fireball heading for her head coming from Anya. She threw the dagger down at Anya's feet and covered her eyes. I wish I had too. A giant bright light blasted out and blinded me for half a second. I regained my vision fast enough to see that Jurard had Anya's head in her hands and her knife at Anya's neck. One quick slash later and Anya was rat food.

The battle was now over. The giant Nord walked up to us and said, "This is not how I wanted to meet our new recruits. I am Battlemage Commander Hans the Hardy. I understand you three are our in our Pre-Training program. Good work; I'm glad to see you all did the right thing and did not cause yourselves any damage. If you follow us; we'll lead you safely to Bravil where we'll debrief you."

I couldn't believe I was standing next to the leader of the battlemages. This was like meeting the Legion Commander of the Imperial Army. I still can't believe that he would come all the way out here just to find us. Maybe Jurard has more pull than I originally thought. He was so tall and massive that I thought he was a giant. He was easily a head taller than anyone I'd ever met. He was taller than any Altmer I've ever seen.

He led us outside. I felt uneasy and I guess he did as well. He stopped us and started looking around. I heard some rustling. I looked around and I could smell it. Then, something I forgot resurfaced in my mind. I said, "Sir, these bandits were not alone. They were meeting up with their sister gang today."

He looked around and as I said that, I could see head after head pop up from the bushes around us. He said, "Battlemages, looks like we aren't done here yet." He turned to us and threw us three daggers. He tossed us three rings each and three amulets. He said, "You know how to fight, right?" We nodded. He smiled and said, "Prove to me that you're good battlemages. If you survive, your names will be on the next our Academy's roster for sure." I smiled. Sweet, I get to fight for real.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Yay, the world's greatest and probably only Nord Mage...other than the woman who happens to be his daughter... she's the one who untied Vatu, Erandur, and Dav. Oh yeah, the plot is right up ahead. I bet you can't wait to see what this story is really about._


	14. Ch 14: Bandit War

**Cearbhail:** _Longest chapter ever. Seriously. Our characters begin their first real fight. It gets pretty dark so you may want to skip this chapter. You'll hear about what happens later anyway and they you'll be like 'what? that happened?' Well, nothing really bad happens I swear. Unless someone dying is really bad. Oh and this is the second time I've split up the first person views. You finally get to see how the others think and a little into their pasts later. Well, enjoy._

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

So, here we are. I'm slipping the necklace around my neck and slipping the ring on my finger. I wish I understood Mysticism better now because I can't tell what these rings and necklaces were for. I thought that all my time as an enchanter would count for something of figuring out what something was enchanted with…but I guess I could just enchant weapons to a certain preference. The only specific feeling I got from these enchanted jewelry is that I felt more energized. I felt like I could fight, where minutes ago I was tired from getting up from the rock that I was tied to for a couple days.

I looked at the heads poking up from the brush. This was the sister counterpart of the gang that had kidnapped us. I looked down at my dagger. It was enchanted as well. I looked back up and saw that everyone had moved already. The fight had started already. Good thing I had a dagger because the first thing I had to do was block a sword slash from a bandit that had aimed for my throat. I caught the slash with my dagger, spun around in the opposite direction, bent my knees, and then pushed myself into the bandit only now inches away from me.

I can my claws through his throat. I raked through him, making him drop his sword and reach for his throat as he not only tried to keep himself from breathing but also to try to breathe for some reason. He fell to the ground, still gurgling on his dying breath. I turned my attention to the side, where a few archers had lined a sight with me. They released the arrows but I used my Khajiiti awesomeness to jump back, cartwheeling past the few amount of arrows barely even floating past me.

I regained my landing and saw that they had reloaded their bows. They were now firing one at a time instead of actually firing all at once. Good, they were smart now. An arrow at a time would come flying at me while I charged back into a zone of combative range. I dodged two arrows flying for my face, rolled across the marshy ground when one came too close to me, and then I just barely missed having one placed in my leg. It was then that I stuck my hand out and launched some lightning at the archers. I was finally within range. My lightning raced quickly across the battlefield.

The three archers took a wad each and they fell to the ground, writhing in pain. I was going to turn back to fighting them but I heard someone splashing through the shallow puddles as they ran up to me. I turned to face them and saw that it was some Imperial bandit charging at me with a sword raised over my head. I quickly threw my own dagger up and caught it with my dagger.

I slid the dagger up the sword until it caught on the hand guard. I reached out with my other hand and touched the blade with my finger. I started visualizing my energy eating away at the blade. The rusty yellow spell known as Corrode Weapon started taking effect. The blade snapped in half and I took the momentarily pause of his confusion to slide my dagger off the broken hub of a weapon and up into his throat. I noticed the three archers taking aim on me again, so I raked my claw into the guy's face and pulled his body in front of me as a shield. I felt the three arrows thud against his already dead body.

I pushed his body off, grabbing his stub of a sword. It was still long enough to be a handy dagger, but I had other plans for this thing. I took aim at the head archer and tracked his body and the two other archers as well. He had just loaded his weapon and I noticed he took his aim off me long enough to load it. He shouldn't have pulled it back before aiming at me. The reason why is because I threw my broken sword at him. I caught the guy in the chest, which was good enough for him to release his arrow into his buddy's leg.

With the other two disoriented, I sprinted on all fours up to the third. I raked my claws across his face, cutting through his chainmail helmet. I unleashed both of my hand spells; Burning Touch and Cold Touch. I froze one half of face and melted the other half. He screamed out in pain for a second before he died. I grabbed his stash of arrows and snapped the tips off. I held them in my hands as bo-shuriken and I took aim at the two just now pulling out their protruding missiles. My launched them all and saw five or six of them land in each face. The head archer was busy trying to scratch his eyes out just to retrieve the arrow stuck in there.

I allowed myself to breathe for a second. My side of the battlefield seemed to be clearing out now. So…where was everyone else? I looked down at my fresh kill and my Khajiiti instincts overtook me. I had to claim a prize from my fallen prey. Our fur armor was usually made up of the hair of our fallen enemies. The more strings of fur we had hanging off our armor, the more foes we had killed in battle. It was a badge of honor among my people. I wanted to collect this hair.

-Davilia-

This was one of the first fights I had ever been in. There was chaos all around me and I couldn't help but feel…inadequate. Destruction spells: I knew Flare. Restoration spells: I knew Heal Minor Wounds. Mysticism: Soul Trap, Dispel, and Telekinesis. I wasn't a fighter. I'm not sure why I decided to join the battlemages. I wasn't strong, I wasn't tough, and I sure wasn't a…killer.

I looked down at my dagger. I could tell it was enchanted with a paralyzing spell. It would probably paralyze someone long enough for them to bleed out; that's what I think. The ring that was attached to my finger was a ring of Aegis, but it was also bound with some Conjuration magic that could envelop the whole body in Daedric armor. The necklace was enchanted with one Illusion spell and one Alteration spell: Invisibility that had to be activated and a Water Breathing spell that never stopped running. I figured I could easily turn myself invisible and run away, but what would that make me?

I looked at Vatu, who was now playfully dodging arrows. Erandur was going up attacking a giant group of bandits with only his hands. It was like watching the Arena Champion with his fights. Erandur moved with such effortless moves that I thought he was not even trying. Why was I here? I hadn't even moved yet but I guess no one wanted to bother me so I didn't mind just standing here.

The reason I wanted to be a battlemage was to make my father proud. When he found out that his only child followed the way of the mage instead of the way of the fighter like him…it troubled him. So, I tried my best to be both…a battlemage. I could make both my mother and my father proud. So, here I was. I only made this decision a few months ago and my mother told me about the battlemage pre-training program. So, I decided that I would give it a try. My father worked for the Fighters Guild. The last time I saw him was a few years ago when the Blackwood Company tried their best to put the Fighters Guild out of business. I think my father had something to do with the Blackwood Company disappearing from Leyawiin. I don't know for certain. He stopped talking to me a while ago.

I felt an arrow brush past my hair and I heard it snap against the rock behind me. I was so lost in my thoughts that it scared me to the point of throwing myself into the muddy grass underneath me. I looked up from the long blades of grass to see where it may have come from. I could barely look up from the grass hiding most of my eyes from everything going on around me. Eran was happily throwing Fireballs at anyone who wasn't us and it looked like Vatu was happily using his Destruction spells on a person's face. I wasn't a fighter; I couldn't sink my dagger into anything. The thought of me putting something fatal into someone's body made me ill.

I looked down at my hands. I could still see the blood that stained my skin for the past couple days. I could feel it knotting my hair and it stained my clothes…whatever clothes they let me keep. Reluctantly, I stood up and fumbled with the knife in my hands. Standing in front of me was one Argonian who had pulled an arrow back with a black bow. He had it aimed right at me. I decided to do something at least. I unleashed my family's ancestor ghost. A large portal to the underworld ripped open in front of me and my protector flew through the portal, moaning in anger at anyone daring enough to attack me. The ghost already knew what it needed to do, since it was always watching over me. It flew up to the Argonian archer and began sucking its soul out of its body. The Argonian screamed in misery but he was smart enough to aim at me instead of the ghost.

He released his arrow and it was heading right for me. I stuck out my hand and did…something. I don't know what I did. The arrow suddenly stopped and blasted away in a separate direction. It flew right into a swordsman who was coming up behind Eran. Eran looked over at me and nodded his thanks for whatever I did. Honestly, at that second I didn't even know what I did. It took me a minute to notice that I had actually used my Telekinesis spell to stop the arrow and redirect it.

My hand was shaking. I couldn't believe I just caused someone to die. I looked at my hand. How could it do this to me? I was a killer now! I…I…I killed someone. I started crying. I couldn't believe I just killed someone. These were hands of alteration and mysticism not destruction. I manipulated magic not took lives. I shook my head. It had to happen eventually. I was a battlemage. Except I was supposed to kill Daedra, undead things, and necromancers as well as liches.

I saw something in the corner of my eye and I spotted Stros coming out of nowhere. Images of seeing him kill the Orc in the close closet started to form in my mind. This guy was a monster and he had that look in his eye that he had when he purposefully sprayed us with the Orcs blood while he laughed as crazily as he could. His look was strong enough to keep me from moving when he grabbed me by the throat. "You're coming with me." He said with a sick look in his eyes. He lifted me up and threw me into the cave.

I started to pick myself up but he was already on top of me. He punched me in the jaw and the entire world just…shifted. Everything was spinning and I honestly didn't know what was coming next. He grabbed me by my arms and lifted me up. He waited until I was looking at him to smile his sick and twisted smile. "Hello, Dunmer. We're all alone." He slammed me into the wall and said, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this. I'll take my time with you and then I'll kill you…slowly."

I honestly had no idea what he meant until he started tugging at his belt. What? He was going to rape me in the middle of a war? I looked at the doorway to see if anyone was going to come save me, but it seemed that everyone was too busy with their own fights. I could hear screaming, lightning, and fire spells every second. He had both my arms pinned and my dagger was lying at the doorway into the cave. I was about to be deflowered by an old Redguard in a musty cave. This was like some sort of dark romance novel that I used to read when I was younger. I found them fascinating but I just couldn't find myself reliving any sort of emotion that the main character lived through. This seemed…so wrong.

I screamed out for help but I guess my cries were just battle noise to everyone else. He covered my mouth and whispered in my ear. "Just accept it. No one is coming and you're going to enjoy it. Trust this old seadog. I've been around plenty of harbors and every woman knows my name when I leave."

My face flushed. Oh my gods…I remembered that exact line from one of my books that I reread over and over again. I wish I found this semi-romantic but…this guy was going to kill me…he was ugly…ok not entirely ugly…but still he was going to kill me!

He noticed my face blush because his face hardened back up and he started undoing his belt buckle. What was I going to do? I couldn't raise my hands since they were pinned behind my back. I didn't use Destruction magic so I couldn't just set myself on fire and kill us both before anything really happened. Was I really about to lose my virginity to a nasty sailor who was raping me in a musty cave while my friends fought and died?

I looked down at my dagger and suddenly a plan came together. My brain started whirring and I got lightheaded for a second. Was I actually considering this? Well, it was either this or get raped and killed. I used my Telekinesis spell and lifted my dagger off the ground. My dagger moved barely for a second but it finally lifted off the ground. He hadn't noticed it yet. I mentally turned the dagger to face the blade to him. His pants started sliding down. Oh man…I had to hurry. I mentally launched the dagger. I saw the dagger that was barely hanging in the air fling off the ground as if someone had launched it from a bow. It flew straight into Stros's head right as he was starting to pull on my undergarments. His arms turned to jelly and he stumbled back before falling through the pit that fell three stories down. I hoped he was still alive…just long enough to feel the impact with the ground.

As soon as his hand released from my chest…I just fell to my butt. I didn't move. I didn't move. I was so in shock that I just couldn't comprehend anything that had just happened. I sighed and grabbed my head. I sat down long enough to get my hands to stop shaking. I was going to need a lot of time to process this but right now I needed to get out of here. My friends might need my help. That was just an excuse. I wanted to get my mind off of this and the best way to do that was to fight some bad guys hurting my friends.

-Erandur-

My fight was going great. My entire life was training as a battlemage. Sword fighting, daggers, spell craft, everything. J'skar asked me what my Destruction spells were and I said 'Fireball'. That was true. That was the extent of my Destruction skill set. I knew how to manifest fire magic. I didn't need specific spells. Ongoing magic was magic that you summoned. Specific spells that required gathering magic took too much time. Instead, I liked to cook anything in front of me with my ongoing fire spell.

My real magic skill set rested with Mysticism, Illusion, and Alteration. I had my Life Detection activated and I could see _everything_ going on around me. I had my dagger that could paralyze anyone it touched on the skin. I could turn Invisible for short bursts which not only confused my enemies but made them miss every time I vanished. And finally, I could blind anyone for a second or two with my custom spell: Sun Flare. So far, I had killed nearly twenty bandits alone by just doing the variety of attacks that I did. Their sister gang was this large? This gang was big enough to be its own militia. They could take over a city if their tried. I wondered why they hadn't yet.

I sensed someone coming up from behind, so I turned around and brought my dagger across his arm. The person glanced down and stopped moving. I love Paralysis. I brought my palm to his face and blasted him with a Fireball that melted his head off. There, he was dead. I sensed two more behind me, so I grabbed the man's axe, pulled it from his hand, and threw it over at the one to my left. I ducked the other's attack (I know; it's hard because I'm so tall) and then I brought my foot down on his knee, snapping it. The attacker crumbled to the floor and I used his sword to cut his head off. It seemed like a common theme among everyone so I decided to keep the theme alive.

I sensed someone coming up on me. I could see it was a mage. He was an Altmer like me. But unlike me, he looked like he was a pampered prince with a chip on his shoulder. He looked like the elitist Altmers that my father warned me about. I was always told from my father that most Altmer were down to Nirn and thought themselves equals with the other races. Other Altmer thought they were higher up than anyone else, calling themselves the original race…the ultimate race: the Thalmor. I bet this Altmer was one of the 'superior race'.

He cracked his neck and said, "Hello, brother. What are the odds that some of the survivors would be us? These inferior races could not possibly survive my attacks, but you…probably could."

Oh great, it was a Thalmor. So, this was one of the Altmer giving us all a bad name and a bad reputation for being snobby and self-centered. I couldn't wait until I could get my hands around his throat and choke him out. I would do this without magic. I would show him the true meaning of strength.

"You are probably the strongest among your friends seeing as you're an Altmer like myself. I will start with you and then I'll wipe my boot off on that nasty fur-ridden ca…" He never finished. A giant wad of lightning and fire that seemed to come out of nowhere washed over him. One second later, I found his body twenty feet away, charred and unrecognizable. It seemed kinda funny. He died while ranting that no one could ever beat him because he was better than everyone else. Poetic justice.

Our great leader, Hans, walked up with Jurard and the other battlemage. He said, "I hate people like him." He clapped his hands and looked around at us. Davilia was just now walking out of the cave with her hands wrapped around her. Vatu was doing…something Khajiiti. I don't even want to explain what I thought it was.

Hans looked over at Vatu as well and squinted his eyes in confusion. "Hey! Stop taking hair! This isn't the Second Year anymore." He looked over at me and Davilia. "Ok everyone. Come, let's go back to Bravil." We heard a loud ear-shattering scream and we could see more bandits poking their heads up. Oh come on! We couldn't keep this up forever. How many were there, ten….twenty? And they all had bows? Crap!

Hans looked over the group and said, "Ok everyone, get behind me." I wasted no time. I jumped behind Jurard, who stood there patiently. I felt Davilia take my hand. Her hand was so soft and it felt so warm that it made my heart skip a beat. I looked back at her to see her soft eyes looking at me. There was something different. She looked…well, beautiful but that was every time I saw her. Her eyes looked hollowed out. Something bad must have happened to her.

Vatu was growling to my right. I turned my attention back to the hundreds of heads that were now rising over the bushes. Jurard looked back at us and said, "When we say so, activate your amulet's Invisibility. We're going to run to our left and jump into Larsius River just down this hill. Don't worry; you will be fine. Don't stop running; and when you hit water, just keep going down until we get there. Got it?"

I held my breath. We stood there, probably waiting for the archers to attack us. They released their arrows and Hans threw a dagger in front of him. "Go!" I held my amulet and prayed this worked.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Man, that was something. Not sure if Davilia will ever recover from what happened and I may bring it back against her one day. Imagine if Stros survived and returned to finish...what he started. I might make that happen now. Anyway, it still gets back to normal now... although the plot is just next chapter._


	15. Ch: 15: Blind Seers

**Cearbhail:** _Interesting chapter. Got some bloodshed, some background, some intrigue. And...we have a plot now. Soon, you'll see exactly what's going on. But that's later on._

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

It's dark, I can't see, and I'm not sure if I'm the only one who made it. I'm surrounded by water that was turning red from the few bleeding wounds that had formed on my body. Looking at the misty red water forming in front of me, my mind started to slow down. It happened so fast; it was only natural that I didn't think when I only acted.

I was standing back at the rock. Hans was standing in front of us. When all the archers released their arrows, he stood in front of us and then….there was a flash of light. I did as I was ordered. I ran to my left. Erandur was in behind me to begin with but then…I felt something graze my leg and then, he was in front of me, passing me over the hill. Something happened to him once he reached the top. An arrow hit him in the back, he cried out, and then…I don't know what happened to him. I was just getting back up on my own feet. Three more arrows flew dangerously close to me, one even nicked my ear. I swear it tore through it…my eyes were tearing up pretty bad for a grazing wound.

I pushed myself on top of the hill. I could hear arrows hitting the trees left and right of me. I could tell that they couldn't see where I was exactly, but with all the mud and plants on the ground, my location was pretty obvious. I think that's how they found Erandur as well. I only knew he was in front of me because I saw an arrow flying in the air, get stuck in something red, and then Erandur's invisibility vanished. Then…he vanished over the hill. I felt another arrow hit just below me and I jumped forward, not even looking where I was going. I tripped on my foot, falling down the hill. I rolled down the hill, hitting my head on a few roots and rocks, blinding my vision.

I found myself lying on my back, invisibility shattered, as well as my amulet of invisibility. My blurry vision started to clear up and my eyes were already locking on the hilltop. More of the archers were lining the top of the hill, lining up their shots. I felt life roll into my limbs; just in time for the archers to launch their arrows. I rolled backwards, hearing the arrows thudding against the ground next to me. I turned around, spotting the river only inches away from me. I really **_hate_** water but it was either water or twenty archers. I took my chances with the water.

I allowed my breathing to slow. The amulet's invisibility may have broken, but the chain enchanted with water-breathing was still working. Sitting at the bottom of the river, pulling an arrow out of my left arm that hit me right as I jumped into the river, I still hadn't seen any sign of Erandur or Davilia. I didn't hear anyone else come in after me, so I'm not sure if anyone else survived. It was a good thing I knew enough about healing to actually seal my wounds because I was afraid I'd attract too many slaughterfish if I continued to bleed out.

Sitting there underwater, it made me think about how exactly I was able to breathe underwater. It was like I was breathing air but I knew that water was filling my lungs. I guess the magic of Alteration just altered the water into oxygen once it entered my body. The power of magic was just awesome sometimes. The fish around me avoided me; they knew when a Khajiit with an empty stomach was around. All I had been eating for the past three days was one bowl or rice and if you think that is enough for a growing cub…you were wrong.

I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and I could tell that it was Erandur waving to me. His golden hair seemed to float straight up. I had always seen his hair back in a ponytail so it looked weird. He waved me to follow him so I swam over to him. I didn't know where we were going but I was sure I'd get some answers soon enough. I was happy enough knowing that he survived. Now if only we could find Davilia.

-Erandur-

I don't think Vatu knew exactly the beehive he was sitting under. I could sense all the bodies of people and creatures amassing above us. It was like those archers were all summoners and were just opening portals for Daedra to come pouring out like an army. It was like Bruma all over again. Yes, my family lived in Bruma…well my mother did. My father lived in the Imperial City, not by choice, but by demand. My mother wasn't a part of the Mages Guild there; they were both battlemages. My father was so renowned as a battlemage that we was chosen to lead the Imperial City when the Emperor was killed.

Since my mother was the only battlemage in our family still living in Bruma, she was made the commander of the battlemages of Bruma's fort; Fort Mafre. Both my parents fought in the battle of Bruma, while I watched from the top of a hill. I saw the Champion of Cyrodiil as she climbed into the gate and walked out ten minutes later clutching a rather large red stone. My father and Emperor Septim kept the hordes of Daedra from overwhelming the other forces; their use of magic was what inspired me to become a battlemage in the first place.

None of that mattered at the moment. Getting Vatu and me away from the summoners was the main issue. I started swimming around the bank, still out of sight. Vatu followed behind me, keeping some distance at least. His bleeding wounds were already fading away. Good, at least he was healing himself. Our enemies started following us as we continued upstream and the only thing I can reason that I can think of is that they can detect us. They must be using the same detection spell that I was. I cursed silently looked back at Vatu. He stared at me, wondering what we were going to do next. I was still too tired to telepathically send him any messages and if the mages up there could spy upon our secret messages…they'd find us anyway. Instead, I pointed toward Bravil. Vatu caught my message and kept swimming.

The wounds that we encountered on the way up the hill made sense now. Those monsters were still shooting at us even after we turned invisible. I don't care how much noise we made on our dead sprint up. No one should have tracked us that fast unless they could at least sense us. This was no mere bandit clan; these were mages. What the heck were we fighting against? Could it be the resurrection of necromancers? Did they rally back up? Were we just a test to see if they could take on the Mages Guild and finish what they started?

I swam in the opposite direction and I noticed that half of the mages were following me and the other half were going after Vatu. Why weren't they charging in to get us? They must have not been Alteration specialists. That's weird, if you ask me. Almost every group has someone who can breathe underwater or at least produce an amulet or a ring that allows you to. Perhaps we weren't worth the effort of coming underwater to do combat with us. That almost felt… insulting to me.

It made me feel like swimming up to fight them. I decided to not take my chances and I turned to follow Vatu, who continued to swim towards Bravil. Our only hope was to find the others and get out on the other side of the lake. I'm sure Jurard and Hans noticed that our pursuers were no ordinary bandits with bows. I doubt that I'm more observant than battlemages who fought in the necromancer wars. I just hoped that they were alright. More importantly, I hope Davilia's with them and not dead on the hill. I don't think I could forgive myself if she was dead. We just got away from being tied up…I wanted time to get to know her. I might never get the chance now.

-Jurard-

I've been in some hard spots before, but nothing like this. Hans couldn't block them all…the arrows tore through his shield. And I couldn't just lug his giant bleeding body up the muddy hillside with the others. I…I had to run in the opposite direction with him in my arms. I cast three Feathers on him to make him lighter than a piece of breed and I ran. Merete, who was our commander's daughter…was hit by the arrows that tore through his ward spell. It was a fatal wound. I'm afraid I didn't have time to heal her. It was either her…or us. It wasn't an easy choice. I set up some runes to cover our retreat and hoped for the best. I heard them exploding behind us as we ran away. That's right, we.

I know Davilia followed me. I could hear her gasping for air while she sprinted behind me. She must have felt safer with me than running up the hilltop with her friends. The distraction that the runes created gave us enough time to run down the other hill and take shelter behind a large rock. We were in some luck at least. They seemed to follow Erandur and Vatu as they charged for the stream. Even luckier for me, I used an Illusion spell that covered our souls: Soul Separation. It made us invisible to detection spells. It's like a giant Silence on everyone around us. I noticed immediately that our opponents were blind and using detection spells to see us. Making us spiritually invisible was the best option I could have thought of. Good thing I created this spell a long time ago.

I know Vatu and Erandur made it to the river. They were lucky to make it there in one piece. Once Hans went down, they shifted all their attention on them escaping. Since our enemies were blind...being invisible didn't really help Erandur or Vatu while they ran away. I'm just elated that we all escaped somehow.

Ok, our enemies. They were blind. Their eyes were covered with orange wrap that went around their whole eye-line. Orange was the color of Conjurers. I don't know if that makes them Conjurers, but I can only assume that their orange wrap meant something. The Council had to know about this immediately. Our enemies were human…or Orc…I couldn't tell. They looked like blue Orcish elves. I've seen a lot of stuff on my missions, but this was weird.

I looked down at Hans, who was bleeding out his mouth. He clutched my fist as tightly as he could. "Leave me here…I'll slow them down."

I said, "We already lost Merete…we're not going to lose you too." I meant it. I cast a giant bubble of Soul Separation around us and I started casting healing spells on Hans. Davilia waited for my signal to yank the arrows out. I kept glancing over at her. She seemed more at odds with herself than she usually was. I don't think this fight was what she expected but she would have to get used to them. After what we saw…I could tell we were going to need all the recruits we could get.

Hans, who was now getting his senses back, said, "Merete? We lost her?"

"Yes, sir." I said. I didn't say that it was my choice to hull him out instead of going back to get her. I made a choice. I said the commander of the Battlemages. Those were my orders…to keep him alive at all costs. Even if it meant saving him over his daughter.

Hans smiled and I heard a small laugh. "We didn't lose her. She's my daughter; she can survive a few arrows. I'm sure we'll run into her later."

I looked over at Davilia, who just sat there, rubbing her hands. I thought she was cold so I took my robe from my backpack and tossed it to her. When we first came here in the hopes of finding my missing students, we suspected that there was a chance that they would not be clothed when we found them, and I guess we were right. They were stripped down to their bare essentials; underwear. Sleeping in that cave for the past three days in nothing must have been rough. I wondered if they even had enough spirit to keep training after this. If they took a break; I wouldn't blame them for a second.

Davilia just stared blankly at the robe. Now I knew that she wasn't full here. She was acting robotically. She wasn't this messed up. Sure, she came from a split family, but she wasn't this bad. I tugged on her shoulder a bit and I whispered, "Davilia! What's wrong?"

She looked at me. At first it was utter shock, like she didn't even know that I was sitting right in front of her. Then tears started welling up her eyes as her brain started working. Oh boy…here we go. I knew where this was going. She flew into my chest and started crying. Most of what she said was muffled and distorted, but I could make out the words, blood, Orc, rape… Wow. This was going to require a lot of debriefing and therapy, mostly therapy. It was too bad I wasn't so much of a people person otherwise I'd comfort her better than just holding her and patting her on the back while she sobbed on the hard piece of iron covering my chest.

I finally got Davilia to get ahold of herself long enough for me to finish healing Hans. He stood up and brushed off his golden armor. He looked at me and Davilia. "Ok, we're moving out. Think I can get away with summoning a messenger?"

I only shrugged. I didn't know what to think at the moment. He made a hand-sign and slammed the ground. A second later, a Scamp appeared. He wrote a quick letter and the Scamp looked over at me. I magicka-weaved a small ring of Soul Separation and placed it on the Scamp's long scaly finger. The Scamp took off running, heading to the closest battlemage base: Fort Variela, with the note clutched in his claw.

Hans pulled me and Davilia up onto our feet. "It will be an hour walk to Fort Variela but if we're hidden in this bubble, we should stay 'invisible' to any of these blind seers. Come on, let's go."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_So, Davilia's taken her first steps to dealing with what she went through; Erandur's taken an interest in Davilia...and Vatu's got a hole in his ear. Joy... oh and Merete...she may be dead... or not. Don't know yet.. I'll flip a coin to see._


	16. Ch 16: On the road again

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, so everything has cooled off a little. Jurard and Hans have everything under control and they're silently trying to flee the grounds of blind people wearing orange and black. I never openly state that they're wearing orange and black robes, but now you know. I'm sure you miss all the action and bloodshed, but that will come back soon enough. For now and a for a while, it'll mostly be talking and back to the routine._

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><p>-Jurard-<p>

Our great escape was not fast, it wasn't like we ran for our lives with hundreds of foes shooting magic and arrows at us. This was a crystal ball drama that the Imperial City always showed. This wasn't some dramatized action showing. This was real life…and real life involved stealth. When you were the 'three O's'; outnumbered, outmatched, and outmanned, you used stealth to survive. You didn't break out two wands and started shooting floating stars at the bad guys…who happened to have little to no training in the arcane arts and horrible aim. We weren't wearing flowing gowns, but armor plates. We weren't sprinting to find our salvation…we were stealth-walking. We didn't get there in the last second to save our comrades who somehow got injured by untrained twits…we found dead bodies being manipulated by well-trained necromancers. That's how real life works.

This was not a contest to see how fast we could get away from the battlefield. Those blind seers might have heard us move and if they did, no amount of hiding our energy signatures would help us. With Hans leading us ever so slowly back to Fort Variela, I could spare a few moments to look back at Davilia. I was glad to see that she was starting to come back to her senses. Having mage robes on seemed to help her too. I don't know how long they went without clothes on, but she definitely appreciated a simple robe now.

We silently glided across the dirt and mud, not making a sound. Stealth was something that a battlemage had to develop. Sometimes we were loud, other times; we had to be silent. This was one of those other times. More of our enemies were starting to pop up around us. I think these were scouts because they were in ones and twos. They would just stand there and blindly look across the field. It was at these times that we sat still and waited for them to pass.

A few minutes into our stealth walk, I decided to use my three extra daggers on my belt for something. I always carried them just in case I needed them for some trick. You'd be amazed how a dagger can become a lockpick that can pick any lock, or how your dagger could suddenly heal your allies by touching them with it. These daggers were with me so that I could weave them at a second's notice. That's exactly what I did. Casting spells over and over again exhausted you; carrying a weapon that didn't drain as fast didn't.

So, I weaved my three daggers for a ten foot bubble of Soul Separation. I gave it the smallest amount of range so that I could overpower the strength of it. These daggers would last for days and they would blind our energy even from the gods, I'm sure. I handed out my daggers and we waited as three scouts looked around in our direction. They hadn't noticed us yet or else we'd be filled with arrows again. I watched as my spell wore off. Now, it was time to see if my daggers would work.

One of the scouts immediately looked our way and drew his bow. My heart started to sink. No…I made sure that the daggers were programmed. When he pulled out an arrow, I was sure he found us. Hans started to reach for his sword, but I quietly grabbed his arm. He looked back at me, questioning me with his eyes. I shook my head. No, we had to see what would happen. I was sure that I had this down. I looked up at the scout, who had an arrow loaded, but it wasn't aimed at us.

I heard rustling behind me and I looked over my shoulder. Hans looked too. There, coming over the hill, was Merete, clutching her side as she bled out. She saw us and her face broke into a wide smile. She looked happy that she found us. She pushed off the tree and started to run to us. I shook my head but it was too late. Two arrows pierced her chest and she fell forward. There was a hesitation of her face, though. She looked up and saw the enemy gathering. She tried to push herself up, but another arrow hit her and she fell limp. My heart sank again.

I looked over at Hans, who sat there, holding his sword's handle as tightly as he could. He wanted to charge out and kill them, I could see it. I knew he wasn't that stupid though. He'd just have to get his revenge later. We needed stealth, not open war. If we engaged the enemy…I wasn't sure how long my Soul Separation would last. It's an Illusion so…if they knew we were here…the illusion would shatter. That simple.

The scouts stood there for an extra minute, scouting for more of us to show up from nowhere. I kept looking over at Merete, who must have been dead if the scouts weren't going after them. The scouts started to move away. Good, that meant we were in luck. We waited until we were sure the scouts were gone. Hans dead sprinted up to Merete. I followed with Davilia behind me.

I ran up to Merete…or what was left of her. Hans was bending over her body, shaking his head. He looked up at me. "Why? She…she…" He looked down.

I sat there while he continued to look at her. "Sir, maybe if you started healing her…she'd be fine." I wasn't sure what type of advice or council I could give him, but he didn't respond to my question.

I leaned down over her body and checked for a pulse. I could feel something but it was weak. I sighed. Good, some chance that she might be alive. I looked at Davilia. "Pull the arrows out when I say, got it."

Davilia nodded and we got to work. I healed some of her wounds and then, Davilia would gently pull the arrows out when I repaired the blood vessels. Davilia seemed to have gently hands so pulling out arrows seemed like something she could do very well. I wondered if she was perhaps a healer in heart. There was no way for me to tell though.

I finished healing her wounds with Davilia's help. The whole time Hans sat beside her, holding her hand. She hadn't woken up at all the whole time but I could still feel a rapidly solidifying pulse from her. I wasn't a healer so I couldn't do much more for her until we got her to Fort Variela for the actual healers there. The rest was up to her until we got her there.

I looked over at Hans. "Sir, I've done all I can. She's alive at the moment, but we need to get her to the fort. We should go, quick but quiet. It won't do her good to get shot again."

Hans lifted her onto his shoulder. "I agree. Let's go."

We started moving again, using the sun to point us out of the woods. We ran into fewer and fewer scouts. I don't know what they were, where they had come from, where they were going, but there were less of them now and that's the only thing that mattered right now. I was hoping I'd never see them again, but there was no way of telling unless I talked to a cleric. After a few minutes of walking through the woods, we finally found our way to the road. Like I said earlier; this isn't some play. We didn't just jump out onto the road, running into a group of Imperial Legionnaires, who help us get to safety. Hans held his hand out and we stopped by the tree line. He just glanced at the road for a second, scanning for traps, scouts, or anything I guess. I was looking behind us, making sure nothing else was following us.

He pushed forward and sprinted for the road. He skid to a stop and took a knee. He looked around and waved us forward. We ran out of the tree-line and joined him on the road. He pointed north and we took off north, sprinting as fast as we could. I smiled. Good, stealth was finally over. At this pace we'd reach Fort Variela in minutes.

-Erandur-

Ok, so… we're stuck in the water. There are no real options available. Our orders were to wait in the river. I shouldn't….no, couldn't disobey my orders without reporting to battlemages first, we were stuck here. We couldn't even go into Bravil. For all I knew, our enemies were in Bravil as well.

Well, there is one option. I know there is a battlemage fort on an island out near Bravil; Fort Grief. We wouldn't even have to leave the water to get to it. We could swim right there. It was one of the battlemage's armories. It was surrounded by water so they never worried about land invasions. Well…they forgot that people can actually breathe underwater these days, so they made the fort _almost_ impossible to get into when it was locked down. It was always locked down. As far as I know, there are only a handful of battlemages there watching over it and they switch out with new ones every season.

I started swimming towards the fort. Vatu started following behind me. That's where I would take us. Sure, I could just keep swimming to the other side of the channel and we could just hide out in some small inn for a day or two, but we needed everyone to know we were safe and not dead. I couldn't find Commander Hans or Jurard so we'll just have to find something else. If we're at a fort, they'll send word out that we're fine once they know who we are and why we're there.

I looked back at Vatu, who doesn't know where we're going. I doubt he knows anything about the battlemage arsenal. In fact…he seems to know nothing about anything involving battlemages. But, that's pretty much everyone I know. Oh no…I'm sounding like I know more than anyone. I had to stop this. Um…I'm sure Vatu knows something that I don't know. Try not to be stereotypical. Nothing about thievery… Um… Not something about fish or grooming. Oh…Enchanting. Yes! He's an enchanter. And, with his ancestor memory thingy, he knows every bit of history lost to any written knowledge. I'm sure he knows pools of forbidden and lost magic, if only he could remember it that far back. It took years of meditation on just past regression for a Khajiit to remember farther back than a few hundred years.

I had to remember; I only knew as much as I did about battlemages because my father was the leader before Hans. I shared my entire childhood going from fort to fort. I learned so many types of battle spells, but Flare was the only Destruction I cared to learn. So…there. I explained myself logically.

We just kept swimming and swimming. I wasn't sure how long we'd been going out to the middle of the river, but I think we're far enough to resurface. I pointed up and started swimming for the surface. Vatu followed behind me. We both broke the surface of the water slowly. I stopped to hear if there were any shouts, or arrows, or even spells. I started moving my hair out of my eyes and looked around. Vatu's head was just now poking through the water. We were in the middle of nowhere. Good.

"What is it, Erandur?" He asked me as he shook the water off of his head.

Some of his fur water splashed on my face. I responded by groaning at him and splashing him back. He growled lightly at me but that was the end of him shaking himself off near me. I looked around. Surely I'd be able to see where we were. That was Bravil over there so the castle should have been…. Yeah, there it was. It was just within my eyesight.

I looked back at Vatu and said, "We're heading to Fort Grief. It's an old battlemage armory. I'm sure the battlemages there will help us out."

Vatu only nodded and we started swimming for the fort.

It would only be a few minutes before we reached the shore. Vatu and I were exhausted but our bodies seemed just fine even after a few days on sitting on our butts. I had to make sure that I kept going to those training sessions with Jurard; she really knew how to get us ready for this stuff.

We pulled ourselves onto the shore and I took a second to let my body relax in the sun. I was freezing cold and I didn't want to catch a cold or something. My immune system is as weak as my resistance to elemental magic. Being made of 'pure magic' made us weak to magic…and nature. Yeah…I'm sure that makes sense to all of us Altmer.

I sat up on the shore for a couple minutes. Vatu just allowed his fur to dry in the sand, which I already knew was a bad idea. There was no way he was going to get that out of his fur in the next three years. I continued to relax and sunbathe while Vatu started licking his fur clean. I'm not sure how he could stand doing that; it had to taste like crap by now. Most of the blood collected in his fur was most likely washed out by the river, but I could still see some tint of blue caught in it.

"Put your hands up, now!"

Crap. Why didn't I remember to tell someone that we were here? No use now.

Vatu and I threw our arms up. I looked over my shoulder to see two battlemages aiming staffs at our heads. Yup, I was right. But…now we had a new problem. We had to convince these two battlemages that we were in fact…battlemages-to-be. One slip of my name would throw these two on my good side. I looked over at Vatu. No…I can't do it yet. I don't want Vatu knowing who I am…or Davilia. In fact, I want no one to know who I really am. I don't want that type of attention. Ever.

"Good, now follow us, and don't try anything stupid or we'll cook you."

I smiled. I liked these guys already.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, so Vatu and Erandur have made it to Fort Grief. Not sure if they're safe or prisoners.. eh, I haven't decided yet. Making them prisoners would require an escape and so much work, but I guess it would be worth it. Next chapter we'll see what happens to Hans and Jurard. Hint hint...one of them is about to die and the base they're heading to... well, you'll see. Ok, I'll spoil it.. No one dies...yet. Maybe Merete, still haven't decided._


	17. Ch 17: Grief

**Cearbhail:**_ I always liked this chapter. We introduce some old battlemages... by old I mean old characters from the game. Iver and Thalfin. Well anyway, Erandur continues to keep his secret of who he really is and Vatu tries to keep him from keeping it. Oh and Davilia really doesn't like being around Hans. He's just too much... a force for her quiet nature to handle._

_Oh and...playing Skyrim...I can't believe how much Davilia and Brelyna are alike...it's scary almost. It's almost enough to make the third story a reality. Where they get frozen in a crystal and you know...get released during the civil war of Skyrim... I'm so close to doing it. It's going to hapen either way but...I'm not sold on bringing our favorite characters from this story in it. I guess I'll leave it up to you. I'm starting the story soon. Almost as soon as when I begin the Rouge Shadowscale. I'm doing them both. So...tell me through a review or PM me.. your choices affect the story in the future. Well, I might be forced to make the decision myself if none of you decide to speak. Anyway, enjoy._

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

Do you know how good it feels to have a hot shower? Have you ever just stayed in the steamy water and just relax? That's what I did. I enjoyed every second of that shower, but then again I had my reasons. I just spent the last four days covered in Orc blood, my own sweat, and cave musk. Licking myself clean had been one of the worst ideas I have had since well… um… well…. I guess never. That was definitely the worst idea I've ever had. Nothing has come close…yet. I'm sure something may in fact top it later down the road.

I took advantage of the rare opportunity to clean my fur with soap and water instead of my tongue. I don't care if I'll die first…I will _never_ eat Orc, not after trying to get that blood off of my fur without vomiting. Seriously, blood should not naturally be blue.

So, as you may have guessed, we're just fine. Sure, when we arrived here; we were taken down to the prison cells and put behind bars before the two battlemages interrogated us…well… interrogated is a harsh word to describe it. They questioned us about why we were on shore, cloth-less. They seemed more worried about us being naked than anything else going on. I guess they didn't get invaded by naked necromancers very often. Jeez…who would have guessed?

The first thing we told them was that we were students at the Arcane University and that we were kidnapped on a ship. We were tied up and taken to some cave outside Bravil where we were tied up for three days.

Our captors, while we were still behind bars, stopped us from saying any more.

The female smiled and turned to her partner. "Quick, get some apples, some grilled venison, and some popcorn. Now!" She pushed him away.

I sighed. Good, they were going to feed us. The battlemage returned minutes later with a large plate consisting of grapes, meat, apples, mugs of something alcoholic I'm sure, and robes. The battlemage threw us the clothes. "Here…I just…I can't stand to see you two like this anymore."

We dressed, they handed us some food through the bars, and the female took a large pot of popcorn and sat back with her partner. She smiled at him and said, "This story sounds like it's going to be fun to listen to. I like the drama that's already mounted. Students from the Arcane University…kidnapping…boat chase. Ooh, I got goose bumps. I can't wait to find out how they lost their clothes."

So, I looked over at Erandur. "Feel like having some fun with the story telling?"

Erandur sighed. "I can't sit here and tell the story like something good happened. If you can…good for you and knock yourself out telling it." He sat down and started eating. "I'm just happy we have food and clothes."

So, I started retelling the story, introducing some drama and humor as best I could while being completely accurate. I told them about how we decided to spend the night in the inn and woke up with bandits standing over my bed. They tied me up with my friends and we were placed in a small shed. Then I told them about the Orc and the bloodbath. Then we were rounded up and transported to a cave.

I looked at my captors. I had them sitting on the edge of their seats. The girl was cramming popcorn in her mouth while she intensely listened to our story. I paused to let it soak in. She stood up. "So… HOW DID YOU ESCAPE?" She screamed. She was so hooked on my story that she would die without finding out how it ended.

Once I told them that we were rescued by Hans and Jurard, we got some dropped jaws. I told them in excruciating detail about the fight we were in and how we were told to jump into the water. Then we got separated and how Erandur knew about this place.

After that, our story was over. Once I told them that Erandur knew this fort, which was a battlemage secret; they crossed their arms. The male said, "Ok…so how do you know of this place? Are you battlemages and if so…just how old are you? Do we have a preschool army now?"

We swore under a painful death that we were in the battlemage pre-training program at the university. They didn't understand what a pre-training program was so Erandur explained it slowly to them. The battlemages lowered their eyebrows and I think they glared at him while he talked slowly to them. Finally, once Erandur finished explaining it, the female walked up to the cage and opened the door.

She said, "I don't appreciate your…slow explanation. We're not idiots…we're battlemages. We're neither instructors nor higher leadership; so we wouldn't know about some training program for kids. We're soldiers who fight in the war, not teaching kids how to breathe fire." She ushered us out. "Now, let's get you bathed, fed some more…and later we'll see about getting Hans over here to collect you. Until then, you are not allowed to leave. You are under house-arrest as our…guests. Guests that can't leave. Yeah…sure, that makes sense."

Erandur bowed. "My apologies, I'm just sick of being asked questions. It's been a long three days."

She bowed back. "No problems. I'm, Thalfin and…" She pointed down to the Bosmer next to her. "This is Glehnir. He's ok when you get to know him, he's just uptight. Me; I've been around for a while so I'm in charge and since we're stuck here for three months…I make it fun."

So after the introductions, Erandur was the first one to go take a shower. I also wanted to go but I think he deserved it more than I did. My shower would take a long time with all my fur so…I let him go first. While I waited for Erandur to finish up, Thalfin continued to ask me questions about my experience in the field and what I thought about it. I flat-out told her how awesome it felt to sink my claws into my enemies. I got some laughs from them. These guys were seasoned veterans and they told me about their war with this necromancer at Silorn.

Once Erandur was out, I left for my shower. I heard Thalfin ask Erandur who his father was…since he was the reason Erandur knew about this place. Erandur looked over at me and I swear he waited until I was gone to tell them anything. I took my shower as fast as I could so I could hear about his father.

Leaving the shower with warm fluffy fur that I dried with a light brushing of fire magicka, I could hear them all laughing over Erandur's stories of what his father went through. I paused outside the room's doorway to listen to the stories. It turned out that the Thalfin knew his father. They fought together during the Bruma battle. The battle of Bruma? I don't recall any battle in Bruma.

I walked down the hallway and rejoined with Erandur, who was sitting back chatting like he was already a regular battlemage hanging out with his fellow soldiers. He pointed at me and said, "There he is! There's my good buddy."

I walked up to him and he grabbed me around my shoulder and attempted a noogie on my head. I looked over at the battlemages. They looked red faced with laughter. Erandur started laughing as well and he fell over.

I took a sniff and I caught the smallest hint of mead on his breath. Ok, I understood what was going on now. Erandur was drunk and so were these battlemages. I looked over at Thalfin and said, "So, what are we going to do?"

Thalfin looked at me with amused eyes. She snickered behind her constantly bobbing head and glazed over eyes. She said, "Relax? You two had a hard day. Just sit back, drink something good, and tomorrow we'll deal with finding your instructor. We already sent a letter out to Fort Blueforce. They will notify whatever fort your friends end up at about your location."

I was surprised she could think as lucidly as she could. She looked like she might fall out of her seat at any second. She handed me a bottle of mead and said, "Here, get yourself ready for a good long sleep. Your beds are ready for you. I bet you're looking forward to sleeping on an actual mat for once."

I took a sniff of the bottle. I could smell the sweet honey. I only had this a couple times…usually when I found it in loot. Never had I ever drank it. I usually sold them to the inns or gave them to travelers in exchange for coin or food. I took a good sip and enjoyed the flavor. The sweet honey seemed to warm my throat as it gently passed down to my stomach, leaving the rest of me with a warm relaxing feeling that seemed to numb my body and mind to the horrors of what I had just gone through. So…this is why people drink so much. Ah man…after a long painful experience like this…it felt like I just drank liquid gold. Right before I took another downer; I wondered what everyone else was doing right now. That thought was drowned in a nice longer sip of more mead.

-Davilia-

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THEY WEREN'T THERE'? CHECK AGAIN, NOW!"**

I lowered my head and scattered away to the edge of a wall as several battlemages stormed through the hallway to go check the river again. The sound of clanking metal really hurt my sensitive elf ears and even though I pushed myself against the wall as hard as I could, I didn't escape a battlemage hitting my shoulder and he rushed out the door of the fort. I rubbed my shoulder. That hurt.

They still hadn't found any trace of Vatu or Erandur. It was an hour ago that Hans sent some scouts out to find the bandits that attacked us. They found nothing. It was like they all vanished. Then they searched for Vatu and Erandur in the river. They weren't there either. There wasn't even a trace. Everyone thought the two things were connected. I sure hope not. I don't know what I would do without Vatu and Erandur now. They were my family now.

People ran in circles as Hans continued to scream his head off. His voice was so loud that it caused my head to shake every time he spoke. He was making everyone tense. He had good reason though. We had to find them. Everyone was certain that they were either dead or captured, except for Jurard and me. This was the only moment that Hans had walked out of the medical ward to speak with the scouts. I knew that once the scouts finished leaving to check again, he'd just stroll back into the medical ward to hold Merete's hand. She was in critical care. No one was sure if she'd survive. Honestly, they thought any wounds like that would have killed a normal person. Merete must have been something else to survive it as she did.

As expected, Hans turned himself around after the scouts exited though the door. He walked back through the medical ward, disappearing for a minute.

Jurard patted me on the head. "It's ok, Davilia. We'll find them. I know they're alright."

Hans walked back out. "I'll believe that when I see their faces alive and full of child wonder." He paced back and forth outside the wall. "I bet they're no better off than my daughter. Expect my daughter is being tended to by healers. They're probably dying at the bottom of a river." He walked over to a map stretched out over a round table. It had all the spots marked off where they checked for my friends. Almost the whole river was dotted off. "But, where in the river are they?"

Jurard was looking down at the map. She said, "You know; Erandur is a smart kid. I'm sure he got out with Vatu alive."

Hans slammed the table so hard that the legs broke. The table flew to the floor, breaking the rock tiles underneath it. He rounded on Jurard so fast that I thought he tore a hole in the air just to do it. "If he's so smart, how come he didn't listen to _my _order? I told them to WAIT IN THE RIVER!" His loud voice seemed to echo through the empty room.

Jurard didn't back down but instead crossed her arms. I really wished I could do that. She said, "We never joined them in the river. He probably felt it was safer to get away; and honestly I don't blame him. We haven't found their bodies so…they're not dead. The question that remains is…where did they go?"

Hans turned back to the map. He picked it off the ground and scanned it again. He looked at me and for a second, I was sure the whole world came to a stop. His blue piercing eyes locked on me and I felt the coldest chill travel down my spine. My knees felt like they were going to give up and my legs no longer felt like they could hold me up. I didn't like it when he noticed me. "You! Come up here."

I felt the most intimidating look of my life overcome my body. I slowly walked up to the broken table and stood by him. I glanced up at him. His muscles were so huge up close that I felt smothered by his massive bulk. His aura itself seemed like a fire that threatened to consume the air I breathe. My heart stopped beating and my lungs stopped taking in air. I felt feint.

He held the map out to me and glanced at it. "If you were underwater, where would you go? Rather…where would your friends go?"

I looked at the map. Um…I could see Bravil, but the only way in was either though the underwater gates that were too small to fit through, or the bridge that was probably patrolled by the enemy. Way southeast of Bravil I saw an island with a fort on it. If I knew Vatu, he'd go for a landmark that he could defend himself on. A fort on an island would be perfect for him. I pointed at the island and said, "My friend would hide in that fort."

He looked at the map and said, "Fort Grief? That's one of our forts." He smiled and folded the map. He nodded at me and then turned to Jurard. "I'm sending a scout out right away." He walked away as fast as he could. I felt the world lift off my shoulders and I grabbed my chest as I let my breath go.

Jurard patted me on the back and said, "Don't let him get to you. He won't hurt you; he's just not too good with restraining his…emotions." She patted me on the back again. I was happy that I had Jurard as my instructor; otherwise I probably wouldn't have made it this far.

Hans returned with a scout and said, "Ok, Iver. I want you to go check out Fort Grief. If our guys are there; let them know we're all alright and we'll pick them up in the morning. Ok?"

Iver saluted Hans and said, "Yes, sir." He charged out the door.

Hans looked at us and said, "Ok, well…since you've had a rough couple of days, I am commanding you to enjoy your stay here. We have a pool on the dungeon floor that is heated by a constant Fire Storm spell that runs underneath the rocks. Plus, a nice place to sit out and watch the birds on the top deck." He spoke so softly that it felt unnatural coming from such a big person.

I nodded, suddenly feeling better. Jurard was right. He could be a nice person. That and the pool sounded lovely right now.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ha! Erandur got drunk. Vatu's discovered whiskey and the magical effects of a burning throat that only makes you feel soooooo goood. Oh...for all you underage non-drinkers... (none of its true: drinking is painful and doesn't help you cope with serious issues...at all... {snorts} yeah... not at all...)_


	18. Ch 18: The Breakdown of news

**Cearbhail:**_ It feels like this chapter wasn't even updated, not really. It seems just as short. Oh well. So, Vatu and Erandur was sleeping away the morning. Well, Vatu is. Erandur's up already because he woke up needing to vomit his guts out. He can't hold his liquor at all. Iver has already informed Thalfin of his need of the two pre-mages. After that, they sat down and reminised about old fights that they attended together. Since they were in the same squad and all that during the war. Well, anyway._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

I enjoyed sleeping on a warm bed. It felt great. I woke up I found out I had actually shredded my pillow with my claws. Kneading was something I did was I was relaxed. It was a Khajiiti thing. It turns out I kneaded the pillow into a thousand shreds. When I actually got out of the bed, I noticed that Erandur was already washed up and ready to go. I never would have guessed that he would be so ready to go with the whole getting plastered the night before. I thought I would be dragging his aching body out of bed with massive protests. I was glad I got to avoid it.

Erandur told me that a scout sent by Hans arrived earlier. They briefed our new battlemage buddies on what happened to everyone else. They were happy to see that our friends were still alive and well. We were more than elated ourselves. I was worried for Davilia but apparently Erandur was more worried. I saw a tear stream down his cheek when the scout revealed that she was ok.

Once that was out of the way; the scout told us that our friends would be waiting at the Bravil Mages Guild, which was one teleport away. He stuck out his hand and nodded to us. I have never traveled by using a teleportation spell, but I couldn't wait to experience it. I looked at the hand and smiled at him but I told him that I still had to get ready.

I washed up quick and made sure I had my dagger, ring, and amulet. These weren't mine, so I had to make sure I could return them to Hans. I met up with the mage who had his hand out and ready. Erandur was already holding onto his other hand. I looked at Thalfin and said, "Thanks for watching over us."

She saluted me mockingly with two fingers and smiled. "Anytime, Vatu. I hope we get to meet on the battlefield someday. If we do; we'll have to share stories around a campfire with a couple bottles of mead."

I laughed as I took Iver's hand. I said, "Sounds like fun."

Iver looked at us and said, "Have you two been drinking?" He looked at Erandur, who looked sick and grabbed his head. I shrugged. He smiled and said, "Well…I guess you two had a hard time. Come on. Let's go." A bright light surrounded us and all I could see was Iver and Erandur, who had covered his eyes now. The light faded away and standing in front of us was a stoic looking Argonian.

I took a quick look around. We were in the Bravil Mages Guild. I remembered coming here. Then the Argonian was…yes, it was her. Kud-Ei, the leader of the Bravil Mages Guild. She was amazingly committed to her friends. I found her cold but affectionate nature odd.

She said, "I was begging to wonder if you were going to show up or not. Which of you is Erandur?" Erandur raised his hand. She snapped her fingers and a shy looking Bosmer walked up with his armor. The Argonian said, "When we were first offered the armor, we decided to do a background check. It's a common mage policy to see if anyone has had their armor stolen or not. Once we found out battlemages were looking for three missing students and one of them had a chainmail/mithril set of enchanted armor…we put two and two together."

The Bosmer handed Erandur his armor and said, "Here you go, good as new."

Erandur's face was overjoyed. He said, "I never thought I'd see it again."

The Argonian bowed to us and said, "I'm so sorry, I have forgotten to introduce myself: I am Kud-Ei, and I am the head of the Bravil Mages Guild. Your friends will be here shortly; until then, please make yourselves at home."

I was about to sit down, but I heard the door open. In walked Hans and Jurard. Behind them came Davilia, who looked worried for a second before she spotted me and Erandur. She waved at us in her usual shy way and carefully made her way up to us.

She smiled for a second and said, "Thank the gods…I didn't think I'd ever see you two again." She hugged me for a couple seconds before burying her head in Erandur's chest. Yeah, her head only comes that high to him. It was then that I realized that I was the same size as Davilia and…we were both shorter than our High Elf friend. Man, I felt short again. That was ok, though. I was still a cub…we all were in fact. Erandur was the same size as the adults and I was a head shorter than everyone. Chances were that I wasn't going to grow much higher, Khajiits usually stayed pretty short.

We didn't get much time to get reacquainted because Hans was already in our faces. He pointed to the basement door and said, "Now come. I know this is not the best time, but I need to know what happened and what you went through. We also have much to discuss as to your future. Come."

We followed him down into the basement with Jurard and Iver behind us. There were already chairs and table set up for us to sit in. We sat down and he said, "Behind that door, we can talk privately…if there is something too personal you wish to discuss in front of your friends." He glanced at Davilia, who looked down. What happened to her? "The room is soundproof, so you won't have to worry about eavesdropping." He said, gently nudging his head over at the door, while keeping his eyes on Davilia.

Davilia raised her hand and said, "I wish to talk in private."

Jurard ushered Davilia into the room behind us. I heard the door shut behind them.

Hans looked at us and said, "I'll let Jurard handle Davilia, she's better at…talking to girls than I am. So, tell me: what happened Freedas night?"

I started first by telling Hans about how we wanted to party at the Bloated Float after getting done with our studies. We didn't have classes the next day so it seemed like it would be fun. Not to mention we wanted out of the university for a night.

Hans nodded like he understood the situation. He sat there, looking intently at us with his hand folded on the table.

Erandur started on about how we decided to spend the night on the Float just to get away from the quarters for a night. Well…we woke up the next day being attacked by bandits with swords. They tied us up and threw us in a closet with an already unconscious Orc.

I described the enemies that I saw in front. Then I went on to describe my own…fear of attacking them because I didn't want to get anyone else hurt.

I guess Hans thought I was making an excuse for not attacking because he raised his hand to comment on my story. Hans stopped me immediately and said, "You did the right thing, Vatu. You two aren't going to get punished for this…there was nothing you could have done."

Erandur picked up where I left off and told him about Stros killing the Orc painfully as we watched. Then, in twisted horror how the Redguard decided to make it rain blood on us by cutting off the Orc's head.

I looked over at Hans, who just sat there, listening. The story went on about how Selene, their captain, came in and pretty much said that we were leaving. We were tied up tighter and forced to sprint down to the cave that they found us in. We spent three days living in that small space, tied to that pole. That was all that we could tell them.

Hans, at the end of it, nodded and said, "Sounds like you did have it rough. I know this may be too much to ask, but are you still able to train?"

I felt my anger burning up inside me. After all we went through…I wanted to fight even more now. This world was sick and wrong…and it needed fighters to fix it. I knew what I wanted now. I wanted to protect this world. I nodded. I looked over at Erandur who looked as convicted as I did.

He said, "Sir, all I've ever wanted to be was a battlemage…this little setback won't stop me."

The door behind us opened and Jurard walked out of the room with a crying Davilia in her side. Jurard was petting her on the head. Jurard walked over to Hans and whispered what Davilia told her to him. Of course…I heard it all with my advanced Khajiit hearing. The fact that Davilia went through all that…shocked me. I never would have guessed. Hans looked as sad as I could have ever pegged him, but he did not look surprised.

He sat us down and said, "Last night…three forts of battlemages were attacked. Fort Variela, Fort Augustus, and Fort Mafre. There were little to no casualties, it was a fast ambush. We are facing a new enemy that is just now showing their faces for the first time in our existence. They appear to be a type of Daedra…or something. We don't know exactly what they are yet but they appear human.. only they aren't. They aren't human, Orc, elf…nothing. We only know this because Fort Mafre has killed one of the beasts and has showed it over the crystal ball. They are blue, orcish, tall like Altmer, skinny like Bretons, and radiate with an aura on par with Daedra. They are fast, they are fully versed in magic, and they are strong."

He looked down at his table in contemplation. He looked up at Jurard and said, "Ale?" She nodded and walked upstairs. He sat there in quiet contemplation while he waited for her to come back. She walked back down the stairs with two mugs of ale. She handed him one, but he snatched both bottles from her. He chugged them both, eyes closed. He sighed and looked back up at us like he was regretting whatever decision he had already reached in his mind. "I can't believe I'm saying this…we need more fighters. If you agree to it… we're sending all of you and your classmates from the Arcane University that are attending the Pre-Battlemage Program to the Battlemage Academy."

I looked at my friends. Davilia looked shocked. She looked at Erandur, who smiled and nodded wisely. He looked at us and nodded. Davilia looked uncertain, but she nodded as well. Me? I wouldn't be left behind like some pussy…cat. I nodded as well.

Hans slammed his glass on the table and yelled a Nord battle-cry. It made us jump out of our seats. He laughed as deeply as he could and said, "Welcome to the Academy, ladies! Next stop… Fort Magicka."

I sighed. We weren't going there first. We had to go back to the Academy to get everyone else as well.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So, that's another chapter gone. More will follow soon._


	19. Ch 19: Goodbyes

**Cearbhail:**_ _Ok, so they're back at the University. They're packing up to go and so are all the other battlemages. Jurard is back in her class making sure everyone knows how to use their stones..well everyone but the battlemages. Anyway, so everyone and their grandmothers are passing through his little room and making sure he isn't packing to leave by harrassing him to join them in a goodbye song and dance and party and chat about all the fun they had. You know, all that annoying stuff people make you do EVERY TIME you leave somewhere.__

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

After we finished our little brief; we teleported back to the University. What happened next was a day of relaxation. Our classes were officially cancelled and a University wide notice was posted about the new enemy. Volunteers were called for to attend three separate training camps. This was going to be one the quickest academy training simulations every announced. They were harder and faster, though. It wasn't expected that everyone would make it through. Between you and me…they always say that. I trusted that my friends would be just fine during these next four weeks.

The final day was nice. Last night was spent with my sister. I ran into Primrose again the following morning and she pretty much asked me all these questions about what happened to me and why I was leaving again. I pretty much filled her in on everything that happened and told her that I was leaving to serve the Empire as a battlemage. She seemed shocked but nodded her head. I found out then that she wasn't a battlemage, only a healer. I guess she wasn't coming with us then. Too bad, she seemed really nice.

The rest of the day was me packing up my stuff and getting random visits from pretty much everyone. It wasn't those 'see you later' goodbyes either. It was that long, silent, tear filled goodbyes that only seemed to happen in the dramas on the crystal ball. J'skar was the first one to come in, followed very shortly by Adam. This all happened within the first couple minutes of me packing my bags. Seriously; why couldn't these guys come by last night and say goodbye like this? I didn't need this type of attention at the last moment. I had things to do and every time I looked up at the clock, I was suddenly reminded of everything that I still had to do.

I still had to get outside and inform either Iver or Hans that I was ready to go. Then we would all throw our rucks on our backs and start our march to Cheydinhal. Normally, we would be going up to the Battlemage Academy, but since the academy already started this season's training, Iver and Hans were taking us up to an old battlemage training fort that was north of Cheydinhal. It was an old abandoned Ayleid ruin with an Ayleid well outside it. It was called Fanacas, but they called it Fort Magicka because of the well that recharged their energy. The other two groups managed by the newly healed Merete and someone else whose name didn't really matter to me were taking their groups to the other parts of Cyrodiil, so we would be more spread out and hidden from our enemies.

For safety reasons, every leader was forced to learn and master Jurard's special spell that she created; Soul Separation. They wanted all of us to remain hidden from the enemy. Right now, hundreds of items were being created by the mages here and distributed around for protection. We were going to cast a giant silence over the whole world of Nirn. This was a serious issue and we wanted to stop this enemy now before it became a serious problem. Honestly, after three forts were nearly slaughtered…it was perfectly logical.

So, after pretty much every pitiful and everlasting emotional goodbye I could muster, I finally decided to get my stuff packed. I only had twenty minutes left before I had to meet Hans outside. I looked around my room for the last time I'd probably see it. This was the last time I'd ever set foot on this carpeted floor, the last time I'd read a book at this desk, the last time I'd sleep on this fluffy bed. I was going to miss is. After all, I would be working as a battlemage for now on and they live in the barracks at a fort somewhere. I wouldn't be in such a luxurious place. At least my sister could still be here. She wouldn't have to worry about leaving ever again. This was her new home, well until her Alchemy picked up and she started her own business of course.

Speaking of Nisha, she left her class early just to say her lengthy goodbye again. Not at all like last night where she hugged me until she passed out and then this morning cried to me until I forced her to leave for her class. No, this was less teary-eyed and more like a formal send-off. Sure, she looked sad, but happy at the same time.

This was how it happened. The door just flew open as she kicked it. She looked a little angry. She ran into my stomach full forced and knocked the wind out of me. She said, "I thought I had lost you! You disappeared for a week and no one knew where you were." She pushed herself out of my stomach and punched me. "And now you're just leaving again? What am I going to do without you? You made me worry and then…and then…you just…" She screamed into her hands and punched me three more times in my gut. "You leave? Again? You're the worst!"

I pulled my sister in and gave her a hug. I was going to miss her, even though she was more abusive than Sister Marie when it came to torturing me. I said, "Nisha, you'll be fine. Like I said, 'this is our new home'. You belong here. Don't worry; once I'm done with my training, I'll come and visit."

We just stood there until I heard a knock on our door. Nexa came walking into the room without waiting for a welcome. At first I was surprised, but after I saw that look in her face, I was more scared than shocked. NO, not this. Anything but this. She walked up to me and flat-out slapped me across my face. She said, "You thought you could just leave without first telling me? You do realize I would have tracked you down and slit your throat, and then I would have prayed to Sithis to let me resurrect you in the body of an Orc, taught you how to live, just so I could slowly rip out your entrails and used them to fertilize my garden."

She looked serious, but then she smiled and hugged me and my sister by extension. She said, "Take care of yourself, Battlemage. But beware, if you die before I see you again; I will have Sithis drag you back just so I can kill you myself for leaving me without saying goodbye." She kissed me on the cheek. That kiss felt so wrong but so right at the same time. Did she like me more than I originally thought? She turned around and quickly walked out of the room.

Nisha looked up at me and said, "She scares me."

I nodded. She scared me too, and I knew she was serious about bringing me back as an Orc just to rip out my intestines. It made me shudder just to think about it. She was an agent and an assassin of Argonia…of course she was scary. I said my final goodbye to Nisha and she returned to class, reluctantly. I finished packing my stuff, but I left everything of value on Nisha's bed. I wrote a note that told her that if anything went wrong and she was out on the streets again that she should sell all of my stuff so she could survive long enough for me to get back. We always had a backup plan. This was plan C out of maybe 253 lettered plans. Plan DTEC was my personal favorite. It involved well…never mind. It was stupid anyway. I thought it up before we became mages.. Ok, it involved joining the Khajiit Caravans. We sold Elsweyr made goods to foreign nations. She could make a good living that way. The only set back was that it was dangerous.

So, Nisha left and I returned to packing. It was only a few minutes before I finished for good. I walked downstairs and I was visited by Adam. He looked like a parent whose child was just leaving for the Arcane University. He nodded to me and said, "Vatu. Congratulations on making it to the Academy. Don't worry about your sister, I'll look over her."

I nodded and said, "You better." I smiled. I patted him on the arm and said, "See ya, old man." I walked out the door leading outside. There, that was the last goodbye, I was sure of it. Funny, though. Of all people to say something to me, I still hadn't heard a goodbye from Primrose, who seemed like a friend.

I took one last look of this place. All of us students wore the ugly green robes of the apprentice, while the teachers wore suave looking blue robes. The white walls and perfect stonework was the design of the Ayleids. A cool breeze fell on my face and I enjoyed it for one last time. I wasn't sure where I'd end up next; I'd never been up to Fanacas. So, I hefted my backpack onto my shoulders and looked around for Davilia and Erandur.

I saw them by the gate. I rushed up to meet them but I was stopped by J'skar. He shook my hand and said, "Good luck out there, Vatu. You know I'm always here if you need me." He walked away as fast as he came. He must have been in the middle of a class. What was with these all so sudden goodbyes now? They did all this earlier. Now I just felt stupid.

I rushed back up to them and this time made it without interruption. Erandur and Davilia looked ready to go. Hans looked over at us and cupped his hands around us. A could tell he was summoning a loud booming voice to his lungs. Here we go..

**"CALLING ALL BATTLEMAGE VOLUNTEERS. THIS IS FINAL CALL FOR ANY BATTLEMAGE VOLUNTEERS. WE'RE SHIPPING GROUP 3 OUT IN A FEW MINUTES."**

His voice seemed to vibrate through the whole school. You know those purple flames that burned outside the gates? They went out. It was that vibrational.

Almost as a mad rush; thirty other students bolted out of the mage quarters with their stuff too. I recognized these guys. Some of them were the other battlemage students, the others must have been volunteers. That Redguard who clocked me in the face was right in front of me, his rucksack in front of him. He had a scar on his face of where my claws slashed him. They seemed to be healing fine.

He looked up at me and said, "You're coming too? Aren't you too dangerous to be with us?"

I flashed him my finger, (no not that finger), the finger with my ring on it. I said, "This will contain my beast. Treat me nicely and I won't pull it off." I glared at him long enough for him to take the hint. He backed away from me and disappeared from my view.

Hans looked down at us and said, "Ok, let me make sure we have everyone." He quickly went through the name roster and everyone responded with 'present'. After they were all checked off, Hans looked down at us. He said, "We are in a time of war with an enemy that we know nothing of. Just like when the Blades and the Champion of Cyrodiil battled the Mythic Dawn, or when our Arch-Mage battled the necromancers and the King of Worms. We have our own battle to fight. They have targeted us and only us. Therefore, we must answer back."

"Wait for me!" I heard a soft voice call. I turned around and saw Primrose running up with a small ruck slung across her back. Was she coming too?

Hans stopped his speech and looked at the Bosmer running up to him. "Who are you?"

Primrose ran through our little gathering of recruits, pushing her way through everyone. She ended up in front of Hans, stopping to catch her breath. "Sir, I wish to come along. I'm a healer-in-training but I can be very useful in the field."

Hans nodded. "Ok." He barely shrugged and looked at everyone. "Does anyone object?" No one shook their heads. He looked back at her and said, "Good, we need a healer. The next four weeks are going to be hard enough without someone to heal your bleeding limbs. You do realize you will be training as a battlemage, right?"

Primrose nodded. "Yes, sir. I wouldn't have it any other way."

He looked around at us for a second. "This is an emergency call to arms. Battlemage Order 14: When the state of the Mages Guild or Tamriel is in danger, the Battlemage Commander may call any mage recruits immediately to serve the battlemage. That is exactly what I am doing. I am calling you recruits into action. I realize you have little training and I am not just going to throw you out like archer fodder, instead I'm going to train you all myself."

He patted Primrose on her shoulder. "Just because you're training as a battlemage doesn't mean you are dismissed from you healer position. I expect you to do our training AND heal any wounded. Got it?"

Poor Primrose seemed stunned but she slowly shook her head. Then, she looked over at me and smiled. She looked over at Hans and said, "Of course, sir."

He turned around and said, "Now, we hike to Fort Magicka. That place will be your home for the next month. Yes, I said a month. Your training will not be three months long, it will only be one. Prepare for hell, ladies…because I'm Sithis and I will make sure you all join me before we're done."

He said it so casually that you wouldn't think he was trying to intimidate us. I don't think he was being serious and that he was only messing with our heads. Oh well. I guess I'll find out tomorrow just how bad it's going to be.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ha! Primrose has bitten off more than she can chew. Oh, I'm talking about the large piece of barbas root she just put in her mouth to keep her calm while she comtemplates just how screwed up her life just became. And all so that she can hang around her only friend. Amazing what you'll do to stay near someone...like join a war as both a combatant and a healer._


	20. Ch 20: The Breakdown of noobs

**Cearbhail:**_ _Ever joined the army? Ever go through Basic Training? Well... this is the battlemage version of what we like to call 'Red Phase'. Enjoy.__

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

I guess you could say that I hate my life. I hate life, I hate my body…and right now, I hate my fellow trainees. That wasn't too bad of me to say; they hate me right back. It's only been the first week of training and now we couldn't stand each other. We were at each other's throats and it seemed that any little word that slipped out of our mouths was a challenge to someone else. I thought that my friends would be above all of it, myself included, but I was already rubbing the ring around my hand. If I took it off, I would have a valid explanation after I ripped someone's throat apart. Wait wait wait…I'm getting ahead of myself. I guess I should tell you how it all began.

Ok, so last week, we arrived at Fort Magicka. One of first things we did was get past all the traps that led us to our beds. I've dealt with these things before so I was just fine. Hans went through each trap like he was walking in a crowded street in the Imperial City. The place was surrounded in water and the only way to get to each other room was to get past some giant blades that fell down when something approached it. It was the Ayleid's version of rat poison. Anyway, some doofus forgot to look up when we walked into an Ayleid ruin. He lost a foot…all of it.

Hans the Hardy, who now wanted us to call him BI Hans (battle instructor), screamed our heads off. He basically screamed this, "**What the hell's the matter with you all? You're a family, a unit. If one of you dies, you all die. Once I fix this poor soldier's foot together, you're all going to a ten mile run to celebrate the fact that it's still functional. Primrose! Get over here and heal this kid's foot!**" That was the start of the most unpleasant week of our lives… mostly Primrose's. It happened with the simplest of things and those little things erupted into big deals.

"**Boy, you smell bad. You know what; you stink so much that your family is starting to smell just like you. Ok, in order to fix this; we're going to a ten mile swim in Lake Rumare. But first, we're going for a ten mile jog to sweat all that crap off of your bodies. Primrose! Get the medical bag. We're going on a little jog.**" Poor Primrose. That medical bag weighed around 30 pounds. Not to mention that she still had to carry her longbow and arrows, being a Bosmer and all that, and her short sword as well. I was beginning to feel sorry for her.

That issue with the smelly battlemage was predictable, though. Of course…he was an Orc…they always smelled bad. BI Hans tagged us with him every time he wanted us to go out jogging. By the end of the week, we all did something to make everyone suffer. For me it was this: "**What is with all this fur in this room? This room is filthy. What are you; a bunch of wild animals? That's it, isn't it? You want to live like animals? Then, you will live like animals**." We spent the night outside in the rain with no blankets. No one liked me very much after that. This was only day three.

Don't take this lightly…we didn't just spend every day in Fort Magicka getting yelled at. We spent most of our days out hiking, learning how to use our maps to find our location and how to use the map to show us which direction we needed to go next and no…we couldn't see our location as some arrow and our compasses didn't show any red or green mystical arrows that showed us where to go…we had to figure it out the old fashioned way; the sun and landmarks around us.

It was only one week in; we already used our maps to find our way to Cheydinhal. We learned how to use soul gems finally and we're learning that 'spells' didn't really exist. Spells were nothing more than a teaching tool for students to understand the concept of control. Magic could be used continuously with certain schools. With Destruction, you could continuously shoot fire out your palm but it was weaker than the standard fireball. It was better to use the continuous fire magic if you were surrounded by waves of enemy and wished to weaken them for something even grander. I didn't know that there was a difference between raw magic and honed magic.

I thought it was weird that when I saw Hans disintegrate a whole sword and within the same second fried a whole person with a little strike of lightning. So, there was also a way to dual wield different spells. If you channeled your magicka just right… you could use all sorts of combos at the same second. Basically; what we learned was that once you understood the concept of magic and your abilities to develop and release it…your imagination was the only thing weighing you down. Hans could move wind, warm the temperature in a room, even turn something not even near him invisible. This was just practice to him, he could do so much more and he started that we could too once we understood ourselves better. I couldn't wait to see what I could be capable of once I found out how to manipulate my magicka.

So, in the first week we learned navigation and soul trapping as a practice and a method of enchanting. We were in the second week now. Navigation was a part of our everyday lives now so we were learning new stuff instead. We were going to move onto combat training. Of course we would be learning defensive, supportive, and offensive magic as well as sword fighting, club fighting and…improvised weapon fighting. The last day of Week 2 was the final exam for that week. We would be outside with nothing but armor. We had to fight and kill three summoned Daedra Churls. That would be the end our second week.

The third week we were going to spend all our time going to real Ayleid ruins and running other new exciting obstacle courses…chances of dying were 0. Of course, these ruins were already claimed and operated by battlemages so every trap was weaved so that it couldn't kill anymore. You might get a broken bone or a smashed foot, but that was why we had Primrose with a heavy backpack filled with all sorts of healing wraps and herbs.

The fourth and final week was all about survival outside. It was called "Hell Week". Hans and a bunch of instructors would choose one of us to be the leader and then we'd be called out on a large scale mission. We didn't know what it involved because we weren't allowed to know what Hell Week was all about until we got there. This was the final test and we had to pass it in order to become battlemages. Well, there was Hell Week and then "Hell's Jump". I'll tell you about that later.

Anyway, we were only a week in and already we were feeling the stress of being trapped together in some smelly, damp Ayleid ruin with each other.

So, here we all were, tired, beaten, and at each other's throats. I sat on my bed, loathing my body and how much it hated me right now. Every inch of my body was crying out in pain from every bit of running. I really wish we had more time with Jurard and her training sessions; as it was we really needed it after all. I personally was too tired to fight anyone, but that didn't stop others from trying. All the screaming was really getting on my nerves; I was trying to sleep after all.

"Oh yeah, Davilia? What about that one time you couldn't keep doing pushups so we had to continue while lied there trying to do your second?" That was Clemens…an Imperial guy with a stick up his ass. He had it in for Davilia.

Davilia looked down at her feet and didn't answer back. "We spent three hours doing pushups waiting for you to complete your 20. I must have done over 200 of them." Clemens just continued pushing on Davilia's spirit. He actually pushed Davilia's shoulder. "You're so weak! What? You can't even defend yourself?"

I growled to myself. If I had enough energy to even stand up, I would have raked his neck apart, but I could see that Erandur was getting angry enough to do something about it. Eh, I'd just let Erandur handle this.

I looked at Erandur, who was getting irritated. He was trying to sleep with a pillow covering his head until Clemens's voice finally forced him to throw the pillow off his head and march over to him. Erandur tapped on Clemens's shoulder. When Clemens turned around, ready to yell at him too, Erandur launched his fist out and just clocked Clemens in his jaw. Clemens practically flew across the room, crashing into his bed and flipping over it. I waited to see Clemens stand up and start charging but Clemens seemed too stunned to move.

Erandur walked back to his bed and lied down. "That should shut you up for a couple seconds."

I looked at Clemens, who just glared at Erandur while he reset his jaw.

Clemens's eyes turned from hate to kill and rose up from the ground. He rubbed his bleeding mouth and then started marching over to Erandur. Erandur stood up, noticing his stare and marched up to meet him. Everyone else in the barracks looked at the two with frightened eyes. It wasn't because they were about to kill each other…whatever they did to themselves made life hell for the rest of us. We all broke out and started separating the two warring battlemages before any punches were thrown. I grabbed Erandur with Davilia and Travis helping me pull him back. Clemens had three other people pulling him back as well.

Davilia said, "Will you two quit it? You're going to get us all in trouble!"

"**What the hell's going on in here?"**

Crap…I guess we were too late. We all broke away and BI Hans walked into our quarters. He glared down at us and smiled. "Oh, it looks like a fight. I guess we got some energy then, huh? I know a way to fix that."

Crap…

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Crap... Primrose, the whole time, spends her time in her improvised medical ward. It seems like every day, everyone comes into her ward to get their bleeding blisters healed and any toes reattached. Yeah, she's not too happy with her extra duties. She hates the sight of blood and it seems to be everywhere._


	21. Ch 21: Not in the face

**Cearbhail:**_ _This is by far the longest one yet.. I think. It's the end of the second week of their four week hell. They're all in shape now and their private war with each other is long gone. They're doing their survival fight against three Daedra Churls, who have agreed to assist in their training because as it turns out... their plane of life is also being attacked by these beasts and they have an ability that makes them actually die... I know it's weird but demons can actually die now. Anyway, enjoy your fight scene.__

* * *

><p>-Vatu- -<p>

Today's the big day. I'm dressed up in iron armor with a loose fitting of chainmail underneath. Of course, we were given armor at the very first day of training. I forgot to mention that, didn't I? Oh well, now you know. We've been living in iron armor the whole two weeks we've been doing this training. Let me tell you what though, it really starts to stink after a while. And there's just no way to get it out. This armor had been used for training before we were ever born and it was still used for us.

Oh yeah, remember how I told you that I can't wear chainmail because it knots and pulls my fur out? Yeah…it's still true. I normally don't shed but this stuff just makes me litter the floor with my fur which continually irks everyone. Our BI, after red phase, stopped hassling us over every little detail. Now, he only hassled us over the continued things that we should have been able to notice and fix…like the dirty floors with my fur everywhere. I continued to explain that if I didn't have to wear this type of armor that this problem wouldn't happen. Too bad…that's all we had. So, we just swept up the place and threw the dirt and fur outside where it belonged and we were just fine.

Oh yeah, we're not on that subject anymore; we're on this one. It's the last day of week 2 and today's test day. Today's test: Constructive Combat. We had to kill three Daedra Churls with whatever we could find. Well…we could do it with spells, fists, their weapons, that branch, that leaf…anything as long as we killed them. That was the qualifier. If we failed, the Daedra would lightly tap us and then mock us in front of everyone before our BI told us to wait ten minutes and try again. Yeah…you didn't want to fail.

So, I watched as several people went before me. Travis ended up boxing with flaming fists and kicks against his opponents while shooting lightning out of his knuckles. William, (Breton), shot Fireball after Fireball. When that didn't work, he did something to the ground and the Daedra Churls sunk underneath the ground until they were only head-level. Then he walked up and personally insulted each one before he took two fingers and zapped their brains to mush. I must admit; that last one was fun to watch. Then…it was Davilia's turn.

-Davilia- -

So, it was my turn. I was wearing iron armor so I was happy about that. I had no weapons. Sure, I was taught how to fight with my fists and how to make even a simple twig a grenade of fire damage, but it was still intimidating to look at three tall black/red-faced demons with orange glowing eyes. They all had giant swords that could cut through me, even though I knew that they wouldn't. The Daedra looked at me and started smiling to each other.

"Puny mortal," It said it a dark liquidy voice, "you will die here. Prepare yourself."

I didn't have much time after that. It straightened its arm out at me and fired a giant white orb of fuzz. It wasn't fuzz, though. It was some sort of Frost spell. It hit me dead on the chest and I flew back. My chest started feeling cold this armor just weighed me down, so I threw it off. I heard a bunch of negative remarks from everyone, telling me to put my armor back on unless I was crazy. I snuck a glance at Erandur, who only watched with fascination. He nodded at me and I looked back down at the Churls.

I stuck my hand out and pulled a dagger from the plains of Oblivion. A dagger ripped through a small portal and I grabbed it in mid-air in a backhand stance. The Churls laughed at my dagger.

"Ooh, she can conjure weapons…but instead of a bow or a sword, she goes for a dagger?" They laughed at me and the lead Churl started walking up to me, still laughing over my weapon of choice.

Swords were heavy and a distraction. Ever since I killed Stros, I've been doing nothing but practice throwing daggers with my Telekinesis. I've practiced throwing them, directing them, calling them back and then throwing them again. I could control up to six knives at once. I could not control one sword or even an axe. They were just too heavy for me to sustain perfectly. Of course, that wasn't enough. I trained close combat too. I found that I find up close better than 'here's the tip of my blade'.

So, the Churl walked up to me and said, "If I tap you in a lethal spot on your body, especially without armor, you lose. You know that right?" He laughed as he brought his sword up to my chest.

He thrust forward and the sword went right through me. He looked shocked, like he didn't plan on killing me. I had.

The image faded away and by then I was already behind his head with the dagger at his neck.

"That was a nice trick, mortal."

That was all he said before I lodged my dagger into the back of his skull and snapped his spine. (if he had one)

The other two Churls wouldn't fall for the same trick he had, it was really a one-time thing. So, I decided to do the next best thing. I created an image of the dagger and 'threw' it at one of the Churls. He side-stepped it but by then, I had the real dagger flying in his direction. He looked back at it fast enough to lose his eye…and his life too. That left only one.

He smiled at me and said, "You have no more weapons, mortal."

I smiled and stuck out my hand. With a flick of my wrist, and the help of blood-red summoning mist, four more daggers materialized in mid-air. I grabbed them in between my fingers and lowered my stance. The smug look on his face dried up as soon as he started counting. Of course, they were just images…and so was I at this point.

I came up behind him after retrieving the dagger from his buddy's eye. I came up behind him, grabbed him by the head, yanked it back, and slid that razor sharp edge right through it. He collapsed onto the ground, gurgling out the rest of his life before the orange faded from his eyes. There, that was three.

I looked up to see BI Hans nodding his approval. He gave me the thumbs-up and I knew that my test was a pass. So, I retrieved my armor, slipped it back on, and joined Vatu and Erandur on the side.

-Erandur- -

So, after Davilia was done, I was summoned to the bottom of the clearing for my duel with the devils. I cracked my neck and snapped my fingers in front of them while they measured me. I can't lie to you, I was happy as I could be. I was going to do this with no help from magic at all. Can you believe that? An Altmer who decided to get his hands dirty instead of blasting lightning at them? Well, I had some pent up anger that I wanted to relieve on something. There were three somethings right in front of me.

The test began and all three of them charged me at once. I waited patiently for them to approach me. The first one tried to thrust. I stepped off and trapped his arm. I hoisted it up, snapping it at the elbow. His sword fell from his broken limb and he proceeded to cry like a little demon. The one on my left was going for a head slash so I grabbed my new buddy by the neck and twisted him with me underneath the blade. The sword found a target, it just wasn't me.

So, with one of them bleeding from the back and a broken arm, I was doing pretty well. He stepped behind the others, trying to pop his arm back in place. They charged in and started slashing at me wildly. It made it easy for me to sidestep each attack thrown at me. The blade was only inches away from my neck, torso, arms, legs, but each strike was well out of threatening reach. In between both slashes, I pushed forward instead of back and got between both of them. I arm-slammed them both in the jaw and they fell back. I took this time do sweep-kick them. They both fell onto the ground. I found this test to be boring so I grabbed one of their swords and I drew a line from one head to the other head.

With just one left, he didn't want to go down without his honor, so he grabbed his sword with his none broken arm and charged at me. I waited. He slashed for my head and I brought the tip of my sword up just right. His arm found its way to the tip of my sword and his attack ended a foot away from my head. I twisted the sword and the arm, as predicted, snapped at the elbow. His sword fell from him again and I pulled my sword out.

He glared at me and said, "Do it." I obliged him. Another head clean off its shoulders.

-Vatu- -

Man, Erandur was awesome at fighting. If I thought he was good with just his fists, just imagine how good he was when he did use his magic. Well anyway, I was told to go after Erandur cleared up the battlefield. So, here I was down here where three of the same Churls looked at me.

One of them said, "I grow sick of dying. Can we kill one?"

The other one looked at him and said, "Our race is in as much danger as theirs. We must prepare each other for this battle. If that means a couple stabs in the eye or neck…we'll deal."

They wasted no time. I had no idea that the Daedra were also troubled. Was this new enemy attacking them as well? I didn't know and I didn't have time to find out. The head Churl attacked me with his sword. I brushed it off with a claw filled with lightning and brought my other claw straight up. The palm filled with frosty goodness found its target on the neck. The neck froze up and the Churl dropped his weapon to claw at his throat. Yup, just as I thought. I froze his pipes leading to the lungs. He couldn't breathe.

I ducked under two other slashes and shot two balls of electricity at their knees. Their muscles convulsed and they lost all balance. They fell down where I personally clawed their eyes out. All three were dead in under a minute. I had the fastest time because I didn't want to waste it. I looked up at Hans, who only nodded in approval.

I waited and watched as everyone else finished up. Some didn't do it right the first time so they ended up at the end of the line. Finally, after three hours of watching, everyone was done. Hans walked down to us and said, "Ok, we're done for the day. Go back to your bunks, take tomorrow off, and we'll start again on Morndas. We're moving into week three now so get packed. We're going to a really fun Ayleid ruin with lots of fun traps that will sure to make you hate life."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, so that's the end of that. Next couple chapters are actually them going through one of these places, just to give you an idea of what they went through for a whole week. I'll do the first one and then just explain in short detail in the following chapter what happened with the rest. Anyway, tell me what you think so far._


	22. Ch 22: Vilverin

**Cearbhail:**_ Yes, I know this chapter is way shorter than the one before it but it's the prelude to what could be the longest chapter I'll ever write. It's the last day of Week 3 and Hans has kept the best for last, Vilverin. For all of you who've walked through Vilverin...you know how much fun it can be and that if you're unprepared just how easy it is to die in there. If you're interested in journeying through it after reading this...Vilverin is just outside the Imperial Prison within eyeshot when you just first start the game._

* * *

><p>-Vatu- -<p>

I got to admit, this week was fun. All we did was travel from old forts to Ayleid ruins and dodge traps that were run by battlemages. They were non-lethal but it still hurt like crap to be hit multiple times by dulled arrows that flew out of the old dart traps, or when boulders that were covered in Feather fell on you. They were still heavy enough to knock you off your feet and give you a headache the size of an Orc's appetite. (Never ending)

Well anyway, today was the last day for week three and our BI looked happy as can be. Standing behind him was one last Ayleid ruin and he decided that instead of just walking through it and seeing if we fell for any of the traps, that we should go in pairs and not only defeat the created monsters inside the place, but avoid all the traps as well. There were plenty of swords and daggers, rings, and amulets to supply us. This was the trick though, there were no soul gems. We had to magicka-weave what we needed. That was fine with me.

He pointed at the ruin behind him and said, "Behind me is the Ayleid ruin Vilverin. For those of you who suck at looking at a map, we're right outside the Imperial City. Inside you will find zombies, ghosts, maybe some Daedra who've decided to help us." He pulled out a small picture of a weird object. He said, "This is your objective. You are to wander this ruin, dodge the traps, fight the baddies, and find this artifact, because this little thing right here…" he tapped the picture. "will be what saves our asses when our bad guys arrive."

He smiled and said, "Now, you will break off into groups of three." (Gee, I wonder who I'll be grouped with) He gestured to a small crystal ball. He said, "This right here is how I will track your progress. You will find these crystal balls in every room; ignore them. They're there to see if I need to send an emergency healer to treat your wounds before you continue. There is no such thing as leaving a mage behind."

Hans pulled up a small list of names and said, "Davilia, William, and Pra'ja." I watched as Davilia, William, and the only Argonian we had as they walked up to the weapons and started gathering what they were going to carry.

Hans pointed to an Ayleid well and said, "There is an Ayleid well just over there if you need more energy to magicka-weave with."

Davilia, not surprisingly, took charge of their group and started telling them what they needed for their journey inside. Davilia herself had two daggers and a bow on her back with twenty arrows ready to go. Her team nodded and they charged into the ruin. We sat there, knowing that we couldn't see what they were going through because it would make it easier on us.

On hour later, Davilia and her crew exited through the door and walked back up to us. She gave the object to BI Hans, who only passed it off to Iver and said, "Go set it back." Iver nodded and ran off with the object. He didn't go through the main entrance which made me believe that there was some other way in.

Hans smiled at her and said, "You did excellently, you three. Now, go over there and wait for another team to finish so you can talk about it like you're on a field trip. If you tell any of these guys over here even the slightest detail, I'll make you go back in blindfolded."

Davilia and her group's smiles faded away. Davilia nodded and her group walked away without saying a word. Once they were out of earshot, they started chatting to themselves about how great it was inside. I couldn't wait to get in there. Davilia noticed that I was listening to her, even though I couldn't hear anything specific, just chatter. She cast an Illusion spell on around them and suddenly, I couldn't hear a word that they said.

A couple more groups went in. Hans stood there, watching his crystal ball, all smiles. You could see the anticipation on his face as someone walked into a trap that they couldn't see. He would laugh and just say, "I never get tired of seeing that. Man, I wish I could record these for future humiliation." All the groups would walk out tired, bruised, even some of their armor was dented, but they always came out with the statue.

Finally, Hans called out, "Erandur, Vatu, and Travis." We walked up to the groups of different swords, dagger, bows, arrows, rings, and amulets. Erandur stood there contemplating everything.

Erandur said, "Ok, this is what I think. Grab some rings and some amulets. We should all grab at least one dagger. Vatu, you can use a bow, right?"

I nodded. Sure, I could use a bow. It wasn't one of those things that I exceled at, but I could do it. Erandur smiled at this and said, "Then you'll be our scout. With your ability to run as fast as you do and as quietly as a mouse, nothing will see you coming. So, I think we should make a ring of invisibility and an amulet of detect life for you."

Erandur looked at Travis and said, "You're really strong so we should give you a claymore."

Travis pounded his fists together and said, "That sounds like fun. If I enchant it with fire damage and lightning damage, I should be able to just charge through anything."

Erandur picked up two Akaviri katanas and said, "And I guess I'll just be the main attack force. Travis will be the tank and Vatu will be our stealthy one-shot. Ok guys, let's go."

We walked up to the door to Vilverin and pushed the door open. We walked inside and the door shut behind us. Erandur said, "Ok guys, let's start this off right. We forgot to enchant our stuff. Let's do that now."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, so next chapter is where the fun begins. I think I might let Travis die now instead of later, but I'm not sure. I think I'll keep him around long enough to make his suffer something harsh. Or I might not kill him at all. Not sure. Anyway, we'll see what happens._


	23. Ch 23: Traps part 1

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, so this is part one of their cave dwelling. Vatu is the lead scout with Erandur and Travis following behind him. I know it's lengthy and mabye dull but I was writing this while exploring the cave. So, try to enjoy._

* * *

><p>-Vatu- -<p>

So, magicka-weaving our stuff was easier than I thought. Erandur helped me by judging my rate of invisibility. It worked out well since Erandur couldn't see me directly…well until he slipped my amulet with detect life. He could see my aura up to 30 feet, which boded well for my chances of not being spotted before I noticed them. With my amulet and ring, I started sneaking my way down the staircase while Erandur and Travis continued to work on their own weapons. I was to go ahead, spring whatever traps there were and report back with the number of foes that I spotted.

The first thing I noticed was the boards of wood that covered the holes in the floors. The wood looked old and weak. I bet it would have creaked if I stepped on it. So, I went around, stealthily making my way through the side passage way. Making my way past the boards of wood, I spotted a doorway that led down to a staircase that led down into the beginning of the Ayleid ruin.

I took my first step forward onto the staircase and I felt something shift. I jumped back immediately and I saw something just come crashing into the wall that I had just been standing near. It was one of those giant logs with spikes that swung down from the ceiling when it was activated by a pressure plate. Man, I didn't even notice the pressure plate…I had to be more careful up ahead. I worked my way past the non-moving object and started walking down the staircase.

I didn't notice anything at first so I carefully glided down the staircase into a small room that continued to lead down. Purple mists started showing up so I poked my invisible head out to see what was up ahead. Two Daedra Churls sat down at a small table, just waiting for us to pass by. I brought my bow back and calculated the arc of the arrow plus the fall of the staircase, the distance from the target. I pulled my bow and let it fly. I pulled back another arrow, readjusted, and fired off the second one.

I watched as arrow one found a target, the Churl's head. The other one rose up and the second arrow found his chest. He cried out in pain and as a warning. Everyone knew we were here now. It didn't matter, another of my arrows found his throat. He was silent now.

Erandur and Travis ran up to me. Erandur said, "What was that?"

I pointed down at the dead Daedra and said, "Our first combatants. Everyone knows we're here now but I doubt it matters. Stay behind me so I can go up and keep scouting. I'll call you when I need you."

I didn't wait. I continued down to the room and searched the place. Nothing. I looked down the descending staircase and almost missed the trip wire. I looked up and saw two iron balls with spikes (I know, right?) waiting to be triggered. I took my dagger, snapped the line and watched as they fell forward. What I didn't notice was the third falling from behind. My armor took the hit but it hit me hard enough to throw me down the staircase. Reaching out, I grabbed the iron chains and swung myself back to where I stood before I went crashing down the staircase.

I forced myself to calm down before I continued down the staircase. I bet Hans got a good laugh at me getting hit from behind. I could practically hear him busting his balls off. At the bottom of the staircase, I came out into a large room that was sectioned off with walls everywhere. I snuck into the room and looked around. There were plenty of slots that were used for torches filled with dark gems. I stepped forward and they started glowing red. Crap… they were dark welkynd stones. That meant it was dodging time. This room was empty for a reason. It was a shooting gallery and the dark welkynd stones didn't care who you were if you weren't Ayleid.

I took cover behind a pillar and looked around at my options. I had to think fast, lighting and frost spells were flying at my pillar and I wasn't sure if they had surrounding damage that I should have been aware of. I noticed that directly in front of me was a doorway with another staircase that led down. I waited for the next wave of blasts before I pushed off the pillar and took off in a sprint for the stairwell. I made it into the doorway and slipped down the first couple steps. I must have made a loud noise because a clanfear came charging up to meet me.

It hissed as me and reached down at my throat to bite me. I giant shock spell threw it off of me. Erandur reached down and helped me up. He said, "Good thing I followed. Come on." He waved me to take the lead while he and Travis stayed at the beginning of the staircase. He said, "If you spot more than just one, come get us. We'll fight as a team." I nodded and continued my way down.

The room up ahead was just a lower version of what we just left, only without any traps or enemies. I continued forward into a dark room with a hand railing. I looked for a way down and off to my right there was a staircase leading down. Travis and Erandur kept their distance but kept me within their eyesight.

I walked into a room just filled with Daedra Churls. I pulled back my bow and said, "Get ready." I heard Erandur grunt an answer. I fired my arrow, taking the head off of one. The rest came charging in and I stood up and drew my two daggers. We charged in and started fighting. I slashed at one churl, turned around and kicked at another one. I spun my arms around and slashed three with one beautiful stroke. One of their longswords grazed against my shielded armor and I spun around and stabbed him in the throat.

Erandur was spinning around his enemies with his two Akaviri katanas. Any enemies surrounding him would fall a second later. Travis was equally impressive. Waves of fire and electricity covering his giant claymore plowed over the Daedra, killing them instantly. We were only fighting for a minute or two before we wiped our blades off and sheathed them. There was a door that led into a new part of the Ayleid ruin. We nodded and opened the door to continue going down.

The next room was very boring but confusing. There was nothing here but a lot of walls and a central room with light. We searched over and over again, but there was nothing down here. After minutes of looking around, Travis finally decided to lean against one of the old slabs of stone to relax for a moment.

"Guys, let's face it…this was a turn around. Maybe we need to turn around." His foot slipped and it landed on a pressure plate. The plate fell and the walls started trembling. We all jumped back as the walls fell down. Oh…it was a hidden part of the ruin.

Erandur waved me forward and I started searching again as a scout would. It was a narrow pathway that led into a bigger room with no enemies. Maybe we faced them all? It didn't matter, so I continued forward with my comrades following behind me. There was another doorway leading down and another room with a pressure switch.

Erandur nodded at me and said, "You and Travis take the pressure switch way and I'll go down the staircase. Let's see if we end up at the same place." I nodded and stepped on the plate. The walls fell down and I found myself into another day walkway that led to an even darker room.

I heard moaning up ahead and Travis drew his claymore. Two headless zombies waited for us. We quickly killed them and continued down. We came to a dead end with a pressure switch. I waved Travis to back up and I drew my bow. I slid back an arrow and pressed down on the pressure switch.

The walls fell down and I found an empty room with nothing again. Were we running out of opponents or something? We waited there and watched for anything. We spotted a door that led down to another level of this place. In the middle of this place was a pool. I bet that's where Erandur ended up. True enough, I spotted him swimming through an old doorway and up to the surface. He didn't look worried but then I noticed the old amulet that Hans gave us when he saved us from the old cave. It was an amulet that let us breathe underwater.

Erandur looked at us and said, "I'm guessing you didn't have to swim here?"

We nodded. He stuck out his hand and we heaved him out of the water. He said, "Ok, that's fine. Let's continue then. I'm getting sick of this place."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Ok, so I'll try to make the next chapter more eventful. Should be easier since the rest of the ruin is actally fun._


	24. Ch 24: Traps part 2

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, so everyone who's made it this far has decided to NOT tell me that I posted the same chapter twice? Man... you guys must have really liked it the first time to not care. Well anyway, this is the real chapter._

* * *

><p>-Vatu- -<p>

Ok…I know we're just trainees but…this was too obvious. I could see it from the stairway looking down. It was a brightly lit room with a floor that had… wait for it…holes in it. Gee, I wonder why there were holes in the floor? Could it be a drainage system? Or…maybe… there were spikes underneath. Yeah, we figured it was the second one, so we just hopped the edges and continued down to the next room.

We bypassed the way right and just went left instead. We entered a massive room with six push-blocks. We were sure it was a trap so we just walked past them and continued carefully down the room. The next room had something under an Ayleid cage. We thought this was it so we looked around the room for an push-block that might raise it. We found it up the staircase. Erandur waited downstairs waiting for me to push it. After I killed a skeleton waiting for us to find the push-block, I…pushed it.

The cage rose up and there was a varla stone. Erandur cursed and said, "Nope, this isn't it. But…we have to be close so let's just keep going."

They joined me upstairs and we continued heading further in. No wonder why it took everyone forever to do this quest.

We walked up the staircase and found another door leading somewhere else. Oh well….we had to so we pushed the door open and walked inside. We entered into a slimmer area with a staircase leading up. We walked up and we could see four Churls waited next to the statue that we were looking for. I pulled back an arrow and noticed something about the walls. They had perfect slits through the whole thing. These were spin-blade traps.

I looked over at Erandur and said, "Blade traps in the walls. Watch your timing and watch where you stand." I let the arrow fly and it missed the Churl by an inch. It clanked against the wall and all for Churls looked at us. They cried out and charged for us. The traps started activating, systematically swinging with perfect coordination and timing.

Well, the Churls must have forgotten about it because one of the Churls got caught by one of the blades and pinned against the wall while the blade tried to complete its revolution. That left only three for us to fight through.

I took my ring of invisibility off and drew my daggers. I charged in, making it past the first blade and parried off two attacks. The two Churls stuck their other hands out and next thing I knew, I was flying back with a nice cool breeze flowing off of my armor. Erandur didn't waste any time and cut both of their heads off, slid under one of the swinging blades and raised his swords up to carve the third one across his legs while he slid underneath him. Travis helped me up and we chased after Erandur who killed the fourth Churl who was pinned against the wall.

We walked up to the statue and Erandur said, "Yup, this is it. Come on, I bet if we go straight we'll end up of here."

He was right. We kept going forward, watching out for more traps that might have been waiting for us. We found a large empty room and a doorway that had a staircase that led up. I was convinced we could just turn around and go back the way we came, but Erandur and Travis wanted to go forward. We continued going up and up, walking across a walkway that overlooked the empty room. That led to another staircase leading up. So, we walked up and found another door leading somewhere else.

I groaned and said, "Let's just turn around."

Erandur looked back and said, "No…I'm sure this is the way out. Trust me." He pushed the door opened and continued forward. I followed and so did Travis. It led us to a very dark pathway that led to an overlook. So, we jumped down and found ourselves in the first room that we entered. I even looked down the staircase to see the first two Daedra I killed when we entered.

Erandur smiled and said, "See? Now, let's get out of here." We ran as fast as we could to get out of this place. We evaded the mace as it tried to hit us while staying stationary and we flew through the door as fast as we could. We emerged outside and Hans looked at us with a nice big grin on his face.

He looked at me and said, "I saw that mace hit a completely invisible target, who grabbed onto the chains of the other maces and swung himself back onto the top of the staircase. Was that you?"

I nodded and Hans clapped. He said, "You were the only one who decided to use the traps to your advantage. Everyone else just tumbled down the stairs. Man…it's always funny, though."

Erandur handed Hans the statue and said, "Sir, mission accomplished with no casualties."

Hans took the statue and gave it to Iver to replace it. He said, "You were the last group to go through the ruin. Since we're finished, I can now tell you what we're doing this following week."

He gathered everyone around and he started smiling as Iver, and three other battlemages from the ruin walked up behind him. He said, "Starting tonight you are a unit. You will be known as Unit 4. Your Battlemage Commander will be…" He pointed at Erandur and said, "Erandur. You will be taking orders from him. Now, I will give 'orders' to your new Battlemage Commander and he'll brief you on your mission. Prepare for a long week, ladies, because we will give you the worst-case scenarios ever known to exist. Just so you know, these missions are not real, but you better treat them as such otherwise you'll live to regret it. Is that clear?"

We all nodded and Hans walked over to Erandur. He pulled Erandur aside and started talking to him like he was his buddy. He handed him a map and a piece of paper. Erandur nodded, looked at the map and then at the paper, rubbed his eyes and walked back up to us.

Erandur said, "Everyone, gather your stuff. We're being relocated to Fort Ontu. I'll brief you once you have your stuff together."

Hans looked back at us one last time and said, "Welcome to Hell Week. If you survive; I'll see you on Hell's Jump." He walked away with his battlemages.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail<strong>:_ Hell Week, also known as "Let's make them confused about every little detail" week. They won't know who is the enemy or who is their allies. Everything is a lie and everything is a trap. You'll see soon enough._


	25. Ch 25: Is this for real?

**Cearbhail:**_ Wow. sorry for not posting in a while. Calm down. I was busy with some family issues and stuff of the sort. That and I've been working on my tales of symphonia book. Anyway, I'm back but instead of better than ever i'm going to really blow your minds out of the water. Soon. Right now, just enjoy this short but important chapter. You'll know what's to follow soon enough._

* * *

><p>-Vatu- -<p>

Ok, so Erandur is our new leader. You'd never guess with how fast he took command of us. It was immediate. Erandur watched as Hans disappeared from us and then he just turned to us and slammed his hand into his other one.

"Ok, guys. Form up. We have only one day to get to Fort Ontus. The place has been taken over by rogue mages who we believe are actually necromancers. Before we depart I would like to say: This is just a scenario…the necromancers we are about to face are just battlemages in black clothes. We are to use non-lethal magic and dull-edged weapons only. They will do the same for us. If you 'die' just fall down and pretend to be dead. I'll have someone escort you out to our designated 'healers' to bring you back to life when our scenario is complete."

So, that was our briefing. After we gathered our stuff and formed up, we pretty much sprinted over all of Cyrodiil in just a whole day's time. I don't know how we were able to get from the Imperial City all the way to past Kvatch in just four hours' time…but we did it. I won't bore you with the details of our run. It was a run…that's it.

So, we arrived at Fort Ontus right before night fall. Erandur nodded to me and said, "Vatu. Do your scout thing. Go up there and tell us how many are posted up there."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Even if he can turn himself invisible…it won't matter if they can detect his life." Davilia came up to us and whispered.

Erandur shrugged. "We don't have much of a choice."

"Yes…we do." Davilia said right back. She said, "When I was with Jurard…she gave me this." Davilia held out a dagger. "It masked our presence and made us 'invisible' to all magic outside us. I had time afterwards to study it. I know how to recreate the spell. Let me go up with Vatu and we'll go scout."

Erandur nodded. He said, "Davilia, that's a good plan. Go with Vatu and scout up ahead. Once you have everyone, just come back and let me know the details and then we'll ambush them."

So, Davilia and I created rings of invisibility and she slipped another ring of 'invisibility' on us as well. Together, we silently snuck up the entrance of the fort and looked around. Davilia, I could tell, was using Detect Life. She glanced up above us and grabbed me. (at least, I think she did. I can't tell because she is also invisible.) She tapped me three times. So, there were three above us? I think I saw her move ahead although I couldn't be for certain.

Since I didn't see anyone around me, I poured some of my magicka into yet another ring. Man, these things were just about as useful as having a staff, but if I wore too many I'd be too covered to actually swing my sword. Well, I won't need them if I go into battle now will I? I poured some magicka into the ring (this being my third one now), and created a ring of life detection.

Almost instantly, I saw seven shades of purple circling around me. I could see Davilia, sort of. She was sitting under four other forces. She snuck back up to me and pulled me away. We started walking back down to where our comrades were waiting. Erandur spotted us right away. He said, "Report."

"There are twelve of them. But…I think they have hostages. They have mages tied up…and they look like our instructors."

Erandur looked down at Davilia and me. He said, "Our instructors are tied up? Who was holding them?"

Davilia looked at me and said, "Remember the cave? Our friends with orange eye covers?"

Erandur and Davilia looked at each other for a couple seconds. Erandur sighed. He said, "You think this is for real?" She nodded in return. Erandur cursed and said, "Vatu, Davilia. I want you to go up there and see if you can chat to Hans. I want to know if this is still a simulation or if we have to go nuclear on them. If this is for real, fire back a steal arrow. If it's a simulation…well, just simulate firing a lethal steel arrow. That means; magicka-woven dulled down steel arrow. Got it?"

Davilia nodded. She grabbed me by the hand and we started sneaking back up the way we came down. We slid our 'invisibility' rings back on and we glided back up to the fort. Or course, now I had a bunch of arrows and a bow to fire with. We glided up to the steps and then we just stopped for a second. There was a golden skinned blind scout standing at the staircase.

Davilia muttered something and grabbed him by the leg. The scout looked down at her but before he could say something or really do something, his knees gave out and he fell down. I caught him all quiet-like and I eased him underneath the staircase, where no one would bump into him.

Davilia looked over at me and said, "Paralyze. He'll be stuck like that for at least an hour."

We glided up the staircase and to our instructor Hans. He looked over at us like he could detect us but couldn't see us. He wasn't sure what he was seeing. Davilia walked up and untied his mouth-covering.

She put her fingers to his lips and whispered, "Sir, please be quiet. We need to know before we start fighting. Is this for real? One nod for yes; two nods for 'simulation'." He looked at her for a second before he nodded once. She nodded at me and I drew my bow.

I pulled back a steel arrow in my bow, took aim at where Erandur was, and fired it off.

-Erandur- -

Ok, so this was not how I expected this. I knew tests were going to be challenging, but this was a hostage situation and it wasn't faked. If this was an elaborate set-up, our instructors were doing their best. They had me confused, so I did what any person under charge of a unit of battlemages would do; I sent scouts. I just had to wait for my signal to begin my charge. Everyone was ready for both. Our weapons were dull already so we didn't have to worry about that, but if that arrow came back non-weaved, we would charge up this fort and kill anything that resisted us. This was not our drill.

I looked back at Travis and William. I said, "Travis, you will lead Alchemy Team. The four that are behind you. William, you will lead Battle Team. That's the four behind you. I will take Churl Team. The rest of you. Be ready because any second now.." A steel arrow whizzed past my head and hit the tree next to me.

I looked at it. I grabbed ahold of it and snatched it out of the tree. It was not weaved at all. It was actually sharpened too. Vatu must have wanted this to be as clear as it could be; this was not a drill. I showed the arrow to everyone and said, "It's not weaved. Ok, everyone. This is not a drill. We are going to charge up that fort and kill everyone who is not our allies. Our allies are the ones in wizard robes. Do not engage anyone who does not look like they are going to engage you. If they lay down their arms, you will not fry them. Is that clear?" Everyone nodded. Ok then. It was time for battle.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail<strong>:_ Ok, so I'm guessing you know where this is going right? Well... what if it was just a test? Huh... we'll see._


	26. Ch 26: Why won't you just die?

**Cearbhail: **IMPORTANT! This was the original chapter 26... I guess I overlooked it and posted over it. Anyting after this is pushed back. of course, I will state this ahead as well. Also, this has been remade. Soon enough i'm sure i'll go back and redue the first couple chapters, you know...make them slightly more enjoyable and stuff.

* * *

><p>-Vatu- -<p>

It was fast, it was efficient, it was…a failure. Yup, a failure. Erandur must have decided that stealth was not an important option because he decided to scream his battle cry and charge up the hill like he was the Champion of Cyrodiil herself. His ragtag army of battlemage trainees followed from behind, all their weapons raised above their heads, screaming out along with him. Seriously; is this what qualified for charging into an enemy fortress these days?

Of course, Davilia and I had time to look at our new enemies and I could see that…they were neither human or Daedra. They looked like elves with Orc teeth and golden blue skin. I couldn't explain it. Their skin was blue…but it glowed gold. I found it both mesmerizing and…enchanting. They still had their eyes covered and I wondered what I would find if I just pulled down their…

"Vatu?" Dav whispered as she grabbed my hand and yanked it back. I found myself snapping out of my spell and snapped my hand back to my weapon. "What's wrong with you? If you touch them, they'll know we're here."

Hans only rolled his eyes and groaned softly.

I looked around. Every one of the three guards watching the hostages were now glancing in our direction. I sighed and whispered, "I think they know we're here."

She shushed me and said, "Then we shouldn't be talking!" She didn't need to tell me that; our enemies were still looking at us like they knew exactly where we were.

Hans rolled his eyes again and muffled, "Shut up and run."

Our blind enemies started to walk towards us. We jumped back a bit and one of the things came within grasping reach before we heard the howling start. They turned away from us and Dav and I watched as Erandur raised his head by the hill, throwing his swords up in the air. That was when Erandur cried out his own distraction. All our enemies turned to look at our mages coming into the fort.

Like I said from the beginning; it was a failure. Want to know why? What happens when you blindly charge into a fortress in a solid line or charging line, with unknown powerful enemies? That's right; you get ambushed by giant fireballs and frost spells. It was chaos from the start. As soon as they entered the fort, something exploded. I thought it was Erandur's ego…because he really acted his part of the suicidal leader with an army of martyrs behind him.

Our new enemies engaged Erandur's army like they were swatting flies away from their home. Large scale fireballs were batted aside or taken directly. They didn't even look phased by it. Of course, I decided to get in on the fun as well. I took off my ring of invisibility but kept on my soul separation ring. I drew my dagger and charged Han's bodyguard. I slid my dagger right through its back and brought it out the other side. They were wearing just robes; there was no way it could have seen this coming.

It didn't see it coming, but it didn't matter. It looked down at me and at my dagger. I thought it wanted an encore, so I stabbed it again. My dagger found its chest a welcoming target filled with…well…ok I couldn't think up a witty comment. So I pulled it out and slammed it into its shoulder.

The thing glanced down at its chest and then back up at me. He raised his hand and decided to welcome me back. It grabbed my arm and pinned me to him with my weapon still lodged inside it. So, he was basically hugging my arm into his body. Man…ok. I could work with this.

I summoned lightning to cover my body. My electric charge passed from just me to the thing touching me. I cooked us both (Ok, well, just it because my magic won't hurt me of course). It stood there and took my attack before it raised its hand and punched me.

I admit, I stumbled a bit. But…I stood back up and looked at the staircase. It was a good long way down. So, I charged him and shoved him. The thing took it, fell down the staircase, landed on its neck and I heard it snapped.

I threw my hands up in a silent victory cheer. Then the thing started reaching up for its neck and snapped it back into place. It rose up onto its feet and looked back up at me. "Mortal, you need to try again."

Ah, come on! I jumped off the second level, landing right on the thing. I shoved my dagger into its head and stabbed him again and again. There, it should be.

It grabbed onto my hand and pulled my dagger from my hands. "Mortal, you need to try again."

It raised his hand to my chest and muttered, "Goodbye." A giant force of energy seemed to ram me off of his body. I fell back next to Davilia.

She looked at me and said, "Are you done goofing off? Just kill it already."

I looked back at the staircase to see that it was back up and looking down at me. I stuck out my palm and shot a fireball at it. The fireball engulfed his head. I looked back at Davilia and said, "There, happy?"

She shook her head and pointed back at the thing. So, I looked back and saw that it was still standing there, not even phased. I groaned and said, "Oh, come on! Why won't you just die?"

It reached up for my head and I felt some of its energy getting ready to cook my head off. A pulse of energy rocked my face and I felt a connection just then…a painful connection. But…I felt it.

My mind flashed for a second and I remembered a night when my ancestors fought a powerful lich that ravaged one of our towns. It was some old powerful necromancer who turned himself into a lich to keep himself from dying. Liches were extremely powerful and appeared like rotting corpses but surrounded with epic level magicka. My tiny attacks would barely hurt it while shoving a dagger in its body would do little to damage it. I was going about this all wrong….I needed to go for… wait for it… the head. Yes, the head. Again. I needed to cut off its head.

I started to move my body but I remembered that I didn't have my dagger anymore. I looked back at Davilia and said, "Dav! It's a lich! Behead, behead!"

-Davilia- -

A lich? Our new immortal enemies were liches? As hard as I found that to believe, I trusted Vatu. I rose from my seated stance, summoned my Daedric dagger, and jumped up to attack my blind undead foe. This training had been hard on me. It broke me from my shy state of mind that made me feel insignificant and weak all the time. I still wasn't a social person and I still found myself reading more books than anyone else around me, but I didn't feel quite as shy or weak anymore.

My dagger slid through the lich like I knew it would. Daedric magic was a powerful magic that could easily overcome any lich if the summoner was strong enough. My family praised the Daedra Lords, Azura especially. My strength was a gift from her, as was this dagger.

Anyway, the head fell off the lich and I found myself slipping forward because of my heavy armor. I guess Vatu was fast enough to catch me because I didn't fall down the steps. I was pulled back and Vatu said, "Easy there, Dav. No need to get too antsy."

He pulled me in for a quick hug. I still found these social situations uncomfortable. Vatu and Erandur seemed to like me a lot but I just didn't find myself feeling deserving of that respect yet. Vatu was a cunning stealth warrior while Erandur seemed to be a jack of trades. What was I? I was…what? Well, earlier I guess I…scouted with Vatu and before I fought in that battle. I helped heal Hans during our ambush. I wasn't sure what I was yet. I'm not sure any of us knew what we were yet.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_yup. It was bothering me too, because i read 29, but i wrote only 28 so i was like... what?... Ok, it's fixed now so (sigh of relief)_


	27. Ch 27: Lich King

**Cearbhail:**_ Alrighty then. Now, we get to see the beginning of the battle through Erandur's eyes. Then, a little secret spills out. Enjoy. Also, I know that i'm not posting chapters as quickly as when i first started, it's not because i've lost interest in teh story, i'm just enjoying my sims 3 game and i'm also trying to get out more and enjoy life as life is. So in short, i'm not writing as fast because i spend less time working on this particular series._

_Also, there is a reference to a term i use a lot in my actual book series...don't worry it's not published..yet. Maybe some day. But still it's called, "Flashing" It's a lot like Bleach's 'Flash-step' only less dramatic._

* * *

><p>-Erandur- -<p>

So, I drew my katana and led the charge into the castle. As soon as I got past the entranceway to the giant circle of walls and upper levels, I was welcomed with a large explosion. A large collection of fire, frost, and lightning exploded in front of me and my troops. I found myself lifted off my feet by the sheer force of it and thrown across the ground. I landed on my back and my armor was singed, but I was just fine. I was glad I reinforced the magic in my armor to resist most magic attacks. It kept me just fine but the armor took most of that hit. It was almost too powerful for my own enchantments to handle.

I looked up to see four of those blue-faced freaks with orange robes looking down at me. They all had their stupid eye-covers on. I grabbed my katana and stood up. "Dav, it's a lich! Behead, behead!" I heard from Vatu. So…these were liches? They didn't look like liches. My new foes stuck out their hands and I felt a powerful magicka aura form around them. I looked back at my team and said, "Everyone! Scatter! Back away!"

I took my own advice this time. I pushed magic in my feet and 'flashed' away. Flashing was a term used to express a quick and speedy run that could barely be traced by eye. I jumped out of the way in time to see and feel the aftereffects of a large fireball that consumed the spot where I stood just moments before. I looked back up at the second level where the liches looked down at us. I looked but I saw nothing. There was no one up there.

"Erandur, behind you."

That was all I needed to hear before I brought my katana up. I spun around and slashed. My sword caught a staff that was raised to block my blow. The blue skin melted off my opponent and the eye-cover fell off. A gray-faced lich with bright red glowing eyes, snarled at me. It screamed out in a loud screech that not only sent chills down my spine, but threw old nasty zombie breath and spit on my face.

I heard thunder and looked up. The skies were darkening and clouds seemed to rotate around me and this lich. I raised my palm. I said, "You may be a lich, but you still hate fire." I stuck out my palm and launched all my magicka in the form of a beam of fire. I grabbed onto the lich's arm with my other hand, which forced me to let go of my sword. I shot the fire out and just started cooking the lich three inches away from me. My armor was shielding me from most of the fire but the fact that this was my magicka also helped me in not getting cooked.

My fire continued to eat away at the lich, at least I thought it was. So, I allowed myself to let go of his arm while I backed away. I had all my fire already formed around him in a giant fireball inferno. As I stepped away, a bony arm shot out of the fire bubble and grabbed me. The hot searing pain of the melting bone burned into my arm and I fell onto my knees screaming out in pain. I wondered why no one was helping me. I activated my detection spell and I could see hundreds of red and black auras swarming my friends. I opened my eyes to see more liches falling from the sky like they were coming here as a declaration of war. What the heck? How on Cyrodiil had we not noticed this many liches before?

"Humans…" I heard the lich in the fire say. The fire split apart as the rest of the skeleton walked out. I looked up to see that his skin and muscle, as well as clothes, were all burned away from him. What the heck? I thought liches died when their body was destroyed. "You understand nothing."

The searing pain in my arm stopped. His arm was finally cooled down but my arm was burnt to a crisp now. The pain was still throbbing and he was still clamping down on it, but at least the searing part of that pain that included burning my arm in the first place was now gone. I was pouring what was left of my magicka to help heal it so that it would not continue to grow more painful.

The lich pulled on my arm and dragged me up. I stood up and looked the lich in the eye. "Your foe is older than you can imagine. They possess not only the skill to find and kill you…they can do more than I just did right now." What?

-Vatu- -

So, my lich was easy work. With Davilia's help we managed to kill three of them while Hans just sat there tied up. Of course, I needed Davilia's help because liches were just that hard to kill in one-on-one.

Of course, those were just the ones that were guarding Hans. Once we killed them, we heard that loud screech. Once again, my mind flashed and I found myself staring at the lich that ravaged one of our towns back in the ancient days. The lich cried out and the skies darkened. Except it wasn't rain that was coming our way. It was a cloud of evil energy created by the hundreds of liches that came down on us. My memory holder's vision turned red and I felt the similar sensation of the body speeding up by numbing down. He and ten others just as charged up as him, charged out into the sea of liches and began cutting them down one by one, taking magic to their bodies but ignoring it long enough to kill them all. My vision holder died when he killed the last lich.

I looked down at my ring. I could do it. I could pull off my ring and summon my uncontrollable state. I looked back at Davilia and said, "Dav? Untie Hans. I'm going in." She looked at my ring as I grabbed onto it.

She said, "Vatu? Are you really?"

I nodded.

She walked up to me and hugged me. She said, "Don't die."

I smiled and thought of Nexa. Yeah, I better not die because Nexa would kill me if I did.

Hans opened his eyes long enough to see me pull my ring off. He said, "Vatu! Wait!"

I didn't wait. I tor my ring off and let my emotion cloud my vision. I felt an overwhelming energy overtake me and I sprinted straight off the wall. I looked down and saw that I was going to fall three stories' worth of feet but it didn't matter. I was going to land right where I needed to.

-Davilia-

I saw Vatu jump off the wall at a speed I hadn't seen since he first went wild on Travis. I looked over at Hans, who looked disappointed. He looked at me and said, "Untie me."

So, I walked up and untied Hans while he said, "This was only a test and that Khajiit is going to either kill all the liches or get himself killed by the liches. I have to stop him.

"This was only a test?" I asked, unbelievingly. That didn't make any sense. Why would liches agree to help us?

"I'm sure you're wondering why liches are helping us. Well…they know our enemy well. They know what we are up against and if sheer numbers around enough to kill us all is not enough for them to get involved, nothing is. They want to form a treaty with us, just like the Daedra. The liches are going to help us defeat our new enemy because they are also threatened. And if we just stop attacking liches and let them live like they want…everyone's happy." Hans said.

I finally untied his ropes and he grabbed one of my daggers. He said, "Trust me, I won't miss."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail<strong>:_ Ok, so next chapter is all about Vatu and his fight with the liches. I'm guessing most of you wonder why Vatu's having visions everytime something random happens. Well, as we all should know, if you do your research, that Khajiits get the history of their race through their mother's milk when they feed as very young cubs. So, that being said, taht's how I play it out: visions of things that happened in their pride's past. Anyway, just something that i will use a lot._


	28. Ch 28: Lich Bowling?

**Cearbhail:**_ So, it's Vatu's time to go crazy. Lots of blood, exploding, guts, blood, claws, magic, blood, blood, Erandur, blood. Ok, there's a lot of blood. Enjoy._

* * *

><p>Chapter 28<p>

-Vatu- -

So, I told you I was going to land right where I need to, right? Well, I was right. I'm not sure how I did it, but apparently blindly jumping off a wall, flying across a field filled with liches and battlemages while in a bloodrage with red colored vision with super-Khajiit strength was enough to land on top of the lich holding my friend Erandur by the neck.

I'm not going to tell you what I did, (coughs: I landed on his neck and plunged my claws through its skull.) (Coughs: then I ripped the skull off the lich's bony neck and infused a fire-based explosion spell in it before I went sky bowling for liches.).

My spell was beautiful though. The flying, also rolling, lich head screamed, "You don't know what you're doing! Stop this!"

I didn't stop it. My spell activated right as the skull hit the middle of the flying formation of liches. The skull lit up like Dagon when the dragon ripped his head off and breathed white fire down its neck. That was also a beautiful explosion. My spell had some special effects. The initial explosion threw parts of the skull out in every direction. Can you say "enchanted fire-bomb shrapnel"?

If you can; you get a gold star. Thousands of little pieces of skull cut through the other liches, weakening them before they exploded on contact with them. The sky lit up with thousands of additional explosions of many different colors. I thought I'd introduce some fireworks, (yeah, that's what I'm going to call them) to this world. It would be used to signify victory through war.

Apparently, the liches didn't agree with me. The ones that survived the explosion (about half of them) all floated down from the sky and landed around me. They looked angry, but I didn't really notice. My bloodrage was in full effect now and I was itching to do some real fighting.

I grabbed Erandur's swords and charged in. I guess I didn't notice Erandur trying to call out to me but he told me that he did.

I ran up to the first of many liches and slashed. The lich grabbed my sword and punched me. The lich's fist broke on contact with my face and I pushed the sword through his hands and through his body. The lich cried out in a mournful cry as it died. I dropped the katanas and decided to go in fists-a-blazing.

I scratched a lich across his face with my flaming claws. The lich cried out in pain but that was the last one I touched. The other (hundred or more) liches wouldn't just stand there and wait for me to engage them in combat. Apparently, when a hero is outnumbered and winning…it's fake. These liches were easily epic-level necromancers transformed and they started to act like it.

I ran my claws through guy number two and then giant pillars of fire surrounded my body. Ice started to form around my body but I was enchanted with so much magical armor prepared by Erandur, Davilia, and myself, that I was actually unfazed by it. I busted through the ice around my feet, jumped through the pillars of fire and started flashing, and slashing, and spinning with my flaming ice covered claws.

I barely reached any lich. They were flashing as well. I felt my claws rip through some clothing and somehow, I forced a lance of fire out at that target. A large beam, no bigger, a large wave of fire, no, still not good enough….a large tsunami of fire roared out of my claw and just rolled over the liches in that area.

I started to feel good about myself when I felt a rather painful explosion all around me. The ground underneath me shattered and I found my body flying across the sky; flying one way and then another force of energy blasting me another. After ten or so explosions my body found the ground.

I had about half a breath until my body was lifted up in the air again. I rolled across the ground so fast that I actually found myself vomiting while I rolled. I came to a stop on my stomach and I tried to get up. My depth perception was shot to oblivion and I could barely get onto my feet.

I looked up at the sky and even though I could see thousands of liches circling above me, I growled out a war-hiss and pushed off the ground. I…flew?...up to them and caught one by the leg. I won't lie. I ripped his leg right off with my other claw and then I did my little firecracker spell on that leg.

That lich flew down to face me and stuck out his hand. "Give it."

I shrugged and tossed him his leg. As soon as he caught it…it exploded. Well, he wanted it back.

That was when I felt more explosions rock my body. This time I actually saw what happened. They were blasting me with frost and lightning spells that exploded. Wow, elemental warfare…how original.

I hit the ground faster this time but I didn't get back up quite as fast. My bloodrage was wearing off and I knew I had little time left. Sure, I couldn't feel any pain, but I could see the blood dripping out of my fur and my claws were all broken and bloody as well. I was probably going to die soon, bloodrage or not.

So, I stood up and raised my claw against the liches standing in front of me. They just flew by me like gnats. One came in and pushed me back down. Why were they toying with me? There were hundreds of them and they could easily wipe me out with a single sneeze.

Despite being pushed down, I got back up. One came in from behind and punched me in the head. Well…since I'm a hyped up Khajiit with emotional problems, guess what I did.

…

..

Ok. I blacked out. Yeah, I couldn't tell you that I got up, raked the oblivion out of his stomach, fed him his own intestines, and then ripped them back out to do it again. I just couldn't tell you that.

Well, until I snapped out of it and found the lich crying with his mouth full of his own intestines. Erandur was standing next to me, eyes wide and mouth dropped.

"You just jumped on his back, pulled him down the ground, ripped out his intestines after raking his stomach open, fed his intestines to him, pulled them out of his stomach, and made him eat them again….wow." He said with complete shock and awe.

I felt so happy with myself that I did a pose and said, "That's me, Vatu; lich killer extraordinaire."

I only had time for that before the entire front of me and Erandur exploded. We both flew back until we crashed against the wall of the fort. Two liches held us there by our necks.

"We grow tired of your games." My lich said to me with red glowing eyes.

"So do I."

I looked up and Hans looked down at me with his arms crossed. "Vatu, before you pass out; I just want you to know that this was a drill. The liches are on our side."

Wow…I didn't see that coming. As soon as I heard those words, my primal instinct faded away and my body started hurting like heck. My eyes unglazed over and my body just pounded me. I felt a heavy pinch in my head and my vision blacked out. Then, I blacked out.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail<strong>:_ So, next chapter's pretty boring. Skip if you feel like but it's about what's really going on, who the enemy is, and what Davilia is really cut out for._


	29. Ch 29: Aedra soldiers?

**Cearbhail:**_ So, this scene is kinda boring, so I will understand if you skip it. It's all dialouge and blah blah blah. You learn about my favorite enemies, ones I thought up, and just what Davilia is going to bring to the table...ha.. table. You'll see. Oh, and I bring in a new character...Primrose (a green-haired Bosmer..yeah)_

_NOTICE: IF YOU HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR AND DID NOT ALREADY READ THE NOTICE FOR CHAPTER 26 REVISION. Here's what's going on. I overlooked one of my chapters, the real 26... I fixed it and that's why everything from then on is one chapter back. Just to let you know._

* * *

><p>-Erandur-<p>

So…

Yeah.

It was just a test. Once Hans insured that Vatu was passed out, he gathered all of us together to tell us what the oblivion was going on.

"I'm sure you're all wondering 'what the oblivion is going on?' Well…our enemy it seems…is older than any living thing on this planet. They are a form of Aedra, divine servants. They are the opposite of what Daedra Churls are. They are the warriors for the Nine Divines."

Warriors for the Nine Divines? What the heck were they doing here then?

Davilia, to my left, raised her hand and said, "So, why are they killing us then? Aren't the Nine Divines our protectors?"

Hans nodded to Dav's question. "It's better to let my new comrade explain it."

He looked away at the skull that was being put together by the other liches. Most of the skull was already fixed. The small cracked skull said, "They are not servants of the Gods. They are divine beings…Aedra. Not just any Aedra, fallen Aedra. They fell from their grace long ago and now they wander this plane living out their sins. The priests of old times sealed them away, back when I was just a boy learning how to conjure."

So, they were fallen Aedra. That actually made sense since my race had fought such creatures before. We didn't know what they were but they fought us and we won. What I didn't understand was why they waited until now to fight us.

"So, why now? And why us?" I asked.

The old skull said, "The Mythic Dawn, as we all know, found a way to open the gates to Oblivion in our realm. When this phenomenon occurred, it allowed all magical seals to release. It may have taken them a while to figure it out or they just didn't care, but their gate to this world had been opened for a long time. As for why they are targeting mages, liches, and Daedra: we are their natural enemies. Aedra soldiers are against certain magic, it's against their masters' beliefs. As such; Destruction, Illusion, and Conjuration are among their most hated. The Mages Guild represents all the sin in the mortal realm to them. Liches are mortal gods of death…we are practically their worst enemy; excluding their rivals, The Daedra."

Hans looked at us and said, "I know what you're all thinking; we up against angels. They are not angels, they are demons. They do not serve the Nine Divines anymore. They are fast, they are strong, and they have no mercy. They don't just hate that we do magic, they fear that we do magic. Aedric beings in fact…are hurt by elemental magic. That's why they're targeting us. We are the fighting force of the Mage's Guild. They want us eliminated before they can move onto the Mages Guild itself."

Dav lifted her hand and said, "Sir? Why do they wear eye-covering wraps?"

The lich answered with, "When they fell, they saw our sin and it blinded them. They can sense us with their divine powers but they can't see us. Thy keep the eye folds over their eyes to keep their eyes from gazing at us. They feel it is a sin itself to look upon the source of sin. Mortals are just a giant pile of sin to them, sin that needs to be cleansed."

Hans crossed his arms. "By cleansed, our friend means: kill us."

Davilia nodded and pulled her arm back down. She looked like she was quietly accepting what was going on. I was more curious about other things than just these angels.

"Sir. What type of agreement are we settling with these liches and Daedra?"

Hans looked at me like he expected the question. "Typical Erandur question. Our lich friends want their peace. We have agreed that we will give them a space of land to settle in and….do whatever they choose do as long as it stays in the laws of our nation. They cannot murder, maim, torture, sacrifice, attack without being attacked, even goading for a fight is illegal, no experiments on bodies (their own or others). These were the rules we set upon with the liches. They live in peace so long as they stay peaceful. The Daedra have given us no such agreement. They cannot come into this world unless we allow it anyway, but their plane is being attacked. They will help us regardless."

The lich, whose face was completely reconstructed now, looked up at me and said, "I bet you also want to know who their leader is, right?"

They had a leader? I could not have guessed that. "Sure…I mean.. yes."

"Their leader is a mortal who turned Aedra. His name was William Victorius. He was the original priest who sealed them away by sacrificing his own body. They incorporated his essence into their own when he died and he was reborn an Aedra general."

That sounds so ridiculous that I found it hard, if not impossible, to believe. How could a priest of the Nine Divines, get absorbed by some fallen angels that he sealed away? "Yeah right! How?"

The lich glared at me and said, "Because I killed him. While he was doing his ritual, I wanted his body for experimenting and I attacked him with my magic. The portal he had summoned to vacuum all the Aedra into a separate realm had been right in front of him. When I blasted him, he stumbled into the portal and fell into their realm. What has happened since…I only know now that he is their leader and he is more powerful than any lich or vampire I've ever encountered."

I looked up at Hans and said, "So, what happens with the rest of Hell Week?"

Hans looked over at all us of and said, "Hell week is concluded early. This test was the best success that I could have hoped for. You all took it seriously and because of it, we're moving onto Hell's Jump. I feel that you are all ready to be battlemages. Once Vatu has awaken from his nap, we'll gather our stuff and prepare for our final test." He walked up to me and said, "Erandur. You will be their leader still for this test. Gather your men and take them to this location. However you get there is up to you."

He handed me a map. I could see the location at the very top of a mountain way north of where Fanacas was. It looked like it was going to be quite a climb.

"I will meet you up there for one last assignment. Make sure they are prepared for war because this jump is just the beginning of the test. Trust me." He patted me on the shoulder and said, "You will make a good leader one day. I will see to that."

I never knew that Hans trusted my leadership so much. I guess I was a level-headed leader. I was good at fighting, thinking on the spot, but I wasn't all that or anything. Heck, I'm not even the main protagonist in this story. I'm one of them and an important one at that, but I'm not the person who had the very first scene talking about his whole life. Maybe I would get to tell everyone my story one day. Maybe.

I looked over everyone sitting on the ground, watching me. Hans was already leaving with the liches. I said, "We have our orders. We are to travel to Dive Rock. It is high in the Jerall Mountains. I've been told that we are to be ready for war. Pack up your armor, your weapons. Make sure you rest tonight because tomorrow we're going to hike all the way…"

"No, you're not." Hans said, walking up to me. "Vatu is still unconscious and in critical care. You will all wait until he is healed. Take this as a vacation. We're relocating to inside this fort while he recovers. Davilia, Primrose. Come with me please."

-Davilia-

I wasn't sure why Hans called my name but I stood up and followed him with Primrose behind me. Primrose was a Bosmer with a knack for Restoration arts and herbal healing. She was nice and all, but she and I were not the best of companions.

"Follow me." Hans said, taking us both into the fort. I hadn't been in here yet so it was nice to see just how clean it really was. Hans led us downstairs and opened a door. He said, "I want you to help me heal Vatu." He ushered us into the room.

There, lying on a slate of rock, was a heavily bleeding unconscious Vatu. He didn't look like he was even alive. Primrose, like in a trance, walked up to Vatu and just barely kept her hands from touching him.

"Oh…" She said, as she walked up to Vatu, her eyes filled with horror. "I had no idea he was this badly injured." She stepped back from Vatu and looked up at Hans with a curious look. "You want _us_ to fix him?"

Hans nodded and said, "Yes. Every unit needs healers. This is your class and I'm your instructor starting now. You two are the only ones capable of healing him since you both have healer's auras."

I was a healer? I did not see this coming.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail<strong>:_ So...next chapter...surprise.. Be ready. MHUAHAHAHA_


	30. Ch 30: SURPRISE!

**Cearbhail:**_ Surprise! Why should I ruin how it ends? It's about Nisha.. enjoy._

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><p>-Nisha-<p>

I couldn't believe what happened. I'm lying in my own blood in the grass of the Arcane University. Buildings are blowing up around me and people are dying left and right. Mages of all ages were blasting spell after spell at our enemy, but these winged beasts kept charging us. I looked over at Adam Ernard, who lied in his own pool of blood. His eyes gazed blankly at me; I knew he died a moment ago. We never stood a chance. My limbs were weak, my body was shattered, and I knew life was about to end. How? One of those beasts was 'looking' right at me. It started to raise its hand and I knew…

You know what happens right before you die? You see everything you saw before in a new light. Well, I didn't see my childhood, just the events that led to the destruction of my home.

It started off as a normal morning. I woke from my bed feeling warm but alone. My brother was off doing important things, I'm sure, but that didn't stop me from missing him. He did everything he could to make sure that I had a home here at the Arcane University. My classes were going great and I was getting high remarks on all of them. Alchemy was my specialty, though.

I got out of my bed and looked around. Vatu had left me everything he owned and I kept it around. I slept with his favorite dagger. I kept it sheathed while I was in bed, though. It belonged to our mother, who died when Dagon ravaged the Imperial City. Vatu had kept it as a keepsake and he gave it to me so that I could always have something of mother's around. I always hugged the dagger to me right before I fell asleep. I thought if I hugged or held it tight enough that our mother would find us someday. Sometimes, I think my brother tries too hard to protect me. I may be young and a little soft-spoken, but I was still a Khajiit with claws….ok, I didn't have _sharp_ claws, mostly because I was still a young cub and haven't grown them in fully yet.

I climbed out of my bed and changed into my apprentice robes. I enjoyed wearing these robes because it showed that I was a mage. I wasn't just a student, I was a mage. I slipped on my sandals and walked out of my room to be met with Adam, my foster parent.

Adam was a nice person. He watched over me while my brother was away and he tutored me on parts of Illusion and Alteration that I didn't quite understand.

"Good morning, Nisha. Did you sleep well?" He asked me, all smiles.

I nodded. I dreamt about my brother. He took off some ring and charged a bunch of liches. I knew it was a dream because he couldn't control his actions. That and he killed more than half of them just by slashing with his claws. Recently, I have been having plenty of dreams like this. Vatu strolling through an Ayleid ruin filled with traps, him fighting Daedra (only three of them though), and wearing chainmail. That last one was impossible; Vatu would never wear chainmail armor. (It makes him shed)

I looked up at Adam and said, "I slept well. I dreamt that Vatu killed a bunch of liches."

Adam chuckled and said, "Well, I'm sure he's ok. He's with the battlemages and they can handle a few liches."

We walked down the hallway in silence. I enjoyed it. Adam was starting to feel like my actual parent now. I was happy to have him around. He seemed to enjoy it too, which I couldn't begin to wonder why.

"Adam, why did you adopt Vatu and I?"

He looked down at me, sadness forming around his eyes. "I used to have a wife who was pregnant. She…died. I joined the Mages Guild in order to escape my grief. After a while of teaching students, I enjoyed having kids around. I never got to be a dad and when you and Vatu came by, orphaned, I talked to the Arch-Mage about adopting. She agreed with me and she is the legal mother of you two. You see…the Arch-Mage is my wife. I met her when I came here and well…at first I didn't love her because I was still grieving, but she won me over after a year or two of pushing. I felt it was about the right time to move on and so…we adopted you two as our children."

He brushed the fur on my head and said, "Soon, you're going to have a sister, well…step-sister? I'm not sure what type of sister she'll be, but you'll soon have a sister."

I continued to walk along with him. I hadn't known that Adam was married or that he had a child on the way. I sighed lightly as we finally made it out of the mages quarters.

Of course, we weren't going to class today. It was Sundas, so there was no class today. We were going to the Market district to get some food and I'm guessing Adam was going to get me a present since today was my birthday.

We made our way through the town, Adam telling me funny stories about his adventures as an apprentice. I eventually asked him why the Arch-Mage never introduced herself to me if she was my adoptive mother. Adam looked away and said, "She's away at the moment. She's pregnant, incapable of fighting with magicka without possibly hurting the baby, and a little moody. She went to a secret battlemage bunker to hide from all our enemies until she gives birth. You'll meet her in a month or so."

We spent a good part of the afternoon walking around the market district. As I thought, Adam did buy me a present: a jade necklace. We just goofed off all day and then we made our way back to the Arcane University all smiles, carrying several bags of food and clothing.

I heard the laughing stop almost immediately as we approached the gates. Adam was looking up above the gates with horrified eyes. I looked up too, surprised to see giant clouds of smoke rising from the university. He dropped the bags and bust through the gate. I dropped my bag and followed him. He turned around and pushed me back. "Nisha, hide. Now!" He said with an upmost urgency.

That's what I did. I hid. He disappeared for a while and I began to wonder what happened. He was gone for a while but he eventually walked outside the gate and waved to me. "Follow me, but be careful and cover your eyes. I don't want you to see this."

So, I closed my eyes and let him grab me by the arm. I could smell all the smoke and burning meat and…cake? Wait…what?

"SURPRISE!"

I threw my claws away from my eyes. The entire university had been set up for a surprise birthday party. I looked at Adam, who just smiled and laughed down at me. He threw a witch's pointy hat on my head and said, "Happy Birthday, Nisha."

The next hour was filled with us eating good food and cake. I was having fun, we were having fun. It was a good day to spend a day off.

"Hey, you can't just wal…"

I looked over at the gate, along with everyone else. A battlemage was confronting a blue-skinned elf with orange robes. The elf looked at him as he told it off and reached up. With a snap of his fingers, the battlemage's neck snapped around as if the creature grabbed him and yanked his head back.

That was when it happened. More of them came flying over the top of the gate. It was quick. Balls of white light started blasting from their arms, raining down on us. The ground, the buildings, some of the bodies…exploded. I ran off as fast as I could, dodging exploding dirt, exploding limbs. I felt someone grab me from behind.

"Don't worry Nisha, I got…" Adam said right before I heard something snap. His arms limped and I fell from his grasp. I hit the ground and his body fell on top of me. It was then that I could see that blood was dripping from his mouth.

I pushed him off of me and started to crawl away. I saw a white flash come towards me and I pushed off. I didn't make it far enough. The explosion lifted me up and threw me across the ground. I looked up to see another one coming; thinking fast, I threw up a shield to protect me. The white flash impacted with my shield, exploding through it weakly. It was still enough to hurt me to the point of shock.

So, here I was…on the ground, bleeding, dying. I had one of these monsters standing over my body looking down at me while the other monsters finished off my friends. It raised its hand and aimed it at my head. I saw the white light and I closed my eyes. I knew how this was going to end.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail<strong>:_ Who wants to bet on what happens? I already know somewhat...but I might change my mind. Seriously, who saw this coming?_


	31. Ch 31: Hideout betrayal

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, we have Nisha, we have Nexa. We have explosions, we have that wierd sadistic priest. We also have J'skar, who becomes an actual character in the book. Oh and we have that sadistic priest...who dies. About shabla time if you ask me._

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><p>-Nisha-<p>

I saw the white light and covered my eyes. I knew it was the end. I started thinking back to…well anything I thought about thinking about. I thought about my parents, my brother, and just about everything I enjoyed. It was so fast that I didn't understand why it was taking so long. I opened my eyes to see the thing no longer looking down at me, but up behind me now. I took this time to pull out one of my explosions in a bottle. Alchemy was used for more than just brewing potions and poisons. I could make spells in a bottle and this one was a good fiery explosion waiting to happen.

I fumbled with the top and when I snapped the lid, it made a loud _snap_. Every one of the things looked over at me. Oh well…I couldn't just put the top back on, this thing was lit and it was going off in my hands if I didn't throw it at something. I tossed the glassed fire bomb into the arms of the thing standing over me. It took its hands away from aiming white death at me and instead caught the bottle of explosion ready magic. I struggled to move but the rest of my body was still too destroyed to move.

"Hold on, Nisha."

I heard the scratchy voice of the Argonian that kissed my brother from right behind me. I felt invisible arms wrap around my shoulder and instantly, I was pulled back right as the glassed fire exploded all over my opponent. The thing cried out in a loud wailing screech that almost ripped through my eardrums. The sounds of the wailing creature slowly dimmed my hearing, creating a numb sounding ringing in my ears. It seemed to last for a long time, but it must have passed relatively quickly. The crying died out and the creature, burnt to ashes, fell to the ground.

I felt something cold overcome me as I started looking around. Every one of those creatures were firing white balls at us and there was no way we were getting away. Just like that; everything went dark. Something happened where I felt like I was flying backwards with something pulling me. It was like I was underwater with a strong current pushing and pulling me backwards through a small tunnel of darkness. The cold feeling continued to push down all around me and then…it was warm again. The sudden sensation of pulling stopped and I fell forward. The darkness wore off and I could tell that I was sitting inside the mage quarters…whatever was left of them. Looking around, I could see a collection of survivors gathered around the room, with the battlemage Jurard standing near the middle with her hands tied in a hand-sign.

"Is that the only person you could find out there, Nexa?" The battlemage asked Nexa. She had her hands tied in a hand-sign, magicka glowing enormously around her fingers and the outlines of the building.

Nexa only nodded and said, "I looked out and no one else was moving. This kitten was the only one out of there still moving around." Nexa looked down at me and said, "She killed one of them by throwing a flask at it."

"A flask? What happened?" The battlemage asked.

"The creature caught on fire but it didn't stop burning like our attacks did. It burned right through it and it fell to ashes on the ground." Nexa said, illustrating her visual experience with her hands. Nexa bent down and started healing my body using her Restoration healing arts. I could feel life flowing into my body again.

The battlemage looked down at me. "You're Vatu's little sister, right? Nasha?"

"My name is _Nisha_." I said verbally; saying my name as clearly as I could.

The battlemage smiled and said, "I'm Jurard and right now, I'm the only chance you have at escaping."

I looked around. The other apprentices that managed to escape were all huddled in the corner of the room, looking around like any moment something could come crashing into the room. Why wasn't this room hit? "How come this place isn't overrun with monsters?" I turned to face Jurard, who glanced up at me for a second, before returning to her concentrated hand-sign. I couldn't believe that those flying monsters weren't leveling the building or at least trying to attack us. It just seemed too quiet in this building.

"I used a spell that blinds our attackers from this spot. This entire building is completely invisible to them and while I prepare a couple spell-bound objects, I have to keep fueling this area. I'm actually attaching my spell to this building while a couple apprentices run down stairs and gather the Welkynd stones. I'm planning on using the Welkynd stones to recharge the building's spell as it drains. We should have a few days of protection from the outside world. In that time I'm going to teach you all how to do this spell and what it's for." Jurard said.

"Oh good, you survived, Nisha."

I knew that voice. I turned around and screamed, "Uncle J'skar!" He stood near the edge of the staircase that led up to the second floor, where the study room was. I leapt into his arms and he grabbed him. He pulled me in for a hug. He spun me around and finally set me down.

"I am glad to see you escaped unharmed. I would have been saddened to see you dead. Once our shadowscale has her massive Shadow Teleportation spell ready, we're transporting everyone inside the building to Argonia where we'll meet up with the Shadowscale Resistance. I have heard over the crystal ball that every nation has been attacked at the same time. All of Nirn is being invaded." J'skar said to me. He looked over at Jurard and said, "I fear that if we leave this place we'll be sighted. Are you doing you're little trick with every person here?"

Jurard nodded and said, "Oh yes. Everyone will carry some type of enchanted wear. I'm guessing silk robes will do just fine. Silk is almost as good as a soul gem for trapping energy so it will last a long time. It will take me time to get those enchanted though and I can't start until we have this house sealed off with those Welkynd stones. So…" She said, looking around. "Where are they? You were supposed to get them."

J'skar waved it off and said, "The priest is setting them up as we speak." He looked back down at Nisha and said, "Now, I heard you were able to kill them. What was in that potion bottle?"

"Oil and a spark spell that ignites the fire." I started thinking about the potion. It was a very simple potion. It was nothing but bottled oil that was closed before being enchanted. Then the bottle was enchanted with a spark spell. Once the top was lifted, the magicka took three seconds to collect and actually spark. In that time, you either had to throw it or…pretty much die. You could use Frost to freeze the oil but that might not even work.

"Oil? If that oil continued the fire at a high temperature for a long time as opposed to an instant burst of fire that our spells unleashed…I think we found their weaknesses." J'skar said as he turned to face Jurard. He smiled. "They have a weakness. Everyone does and now we know theirs."

I looked around. Was there something that I was forgetting? I stopped thinking for a second to allow myself to remember what just happened. Everyone outside died because they were out there for my birthday. If I hadn't had some surprise party, maybe everyone wouldn't have died as easily as they did.

I was starting to feel overwhelming sadness. Adam's lifeless eyes started flashing in my memory. I started crying, but Uncle J'skar was already beside me. "It's ok, little cub. Just relax." He started rubbing my head and I felt…better. I never knew that a simple rubbing of my head would be relaxing. My arms practically fell asleep and the rest of my body started falling as well. There were no thoughts other than that I should go to sleep right now. I started feeling tired and all I heard was, "You've had a long day, Nisha. Just sleep it off." My body felt completely relaxed and I couldn't stay awake any longer. I passed out.

-J'skar-

It was good that I managed to keep Nisha under control. If Vatu was a Sen'la'gar holder…then his little sister was one too. If she let her emotions get the better of her, it could mean another red-eyed Khajiit walking around, possibly charging outside to extract revenge for her dead friends. It was a good thing all cubs enjoyed having their heads and cheeks rubbed. It was a comfort reaction and it always put cubs to sleep. Only Khajiit knew how to do it right; outsiders would only trigger the bite reflex.

Our local shadowscale was preparing her unholy chants that would teleport us all to Black Marsh while Jurard, our only battlemage, continued to fuel the house with her protection spell. My job was easy. I just had to use my Destruction and Illusion arts to protect everyone here. We were all that was left, except for that crazy priest who was upstairs placing Welkynd stones everywhere she could possibly think. Speaking of which…she was taking too long. What was she doing? Was she asking for all Nine Divines to bless each stone individually before even placing it down?

I placed the sleeping beauty onto the floor gently and started walking upstairs.

"J'skar? Where are you going?" Jurard asked me.

"I'm going to make sure our priest hasn't seen the image of Talos in her fingernail and has made sure to worship it." That woman drove me crazy. I was a holy person, yes, but I was no fanatic when it came to praising every little thing that happened.

I walked up the staircase and opened the door. The priest was looking out a window. She looked up at me with a twisted smile. "Oh, J'skar! You'll never guess who Julianos sent to us. These angels are their messengers and they want to come in to talk to us all."

Six of the robed demons started walking up from around the bookcase. Her smile was still twisted but I could see the blood leaking out of her mouth. Her eyes were contorted in controlled pain and I could just now see that she was barely even standing up. Somehow, they had been controlling her long enough to get inside the house. Now that her job was finished, it seemed like she was being killed. Just as expected, her eyes rolled back and she fell forward, a giant hole through the back of her robes. The demons raised their hands at me and I turned around.

"You've got to be pulling my tail!" I said and took down the staircase. "They're here! They're here! We need to leave now!" I said as the wall in front of me, almost right above my head, exploded into dust. Several other parts of the wall exploded around me, including the handrail inches away from my hand.

The shadowscale looked up at me and said, "What did you do?" She said as she unsheathed her half-sword. She was scanning the wall above me for any sign of combatants.

I didn't have time to explain, the demons were already coming down the staircase. The shadowscale saw them and said, "Ok, whatever. Just get near me, everyone."

Everyone ran up to her, except for me. I ran up to Nisha and scooped her into my arms. Nexa grabbed an amulet and whispered in something in Argonian. A giant vortex of black and purple energy ripped open directly behind her. All the apprentices jumped through without thinking. Jurard stayed by the edge, sticking out her hand for me. I jumped into the shadowscale's portal quick enough to feel the darkness wrap around me. I saw Jurard and then Nexa jumping in next. I was glad, we all made it through…and we got rid of that blasted priest.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Yay, a revised chapter. More will come soon and also soon I will start the Rouge Shadowscale. And at the end of the Rouge Shadowscale, you will see a special scene that will prelude to yet another story. Not really a sequel but a tie in. You will figure it out because I plan on being as obvious as possible._


	32. Ch 32: It's time to heal?

**Cearbhail:**_ Here we see Primrose and Davilia begin healing Vatu's body. Nothing all that special. Oh, there is a in depth description about how healing works._

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><p>-Davilia-<p>

I covered my nose as I approached Vatu. The past day had been us learning how to feel his energy. I think it would help us learn better if we were allowed to bathe him first. He smelled like burnt fur, sweat, and lich blood. Apparently, Hans didn't even notice that every time that Primrose and I walked in the room that we covered our noses as we approached Vatu. Otherwise, I was sure he would have done _something_ about the smell.

Today was just another day with Hans standing in front of Vatu's unmoving body. We were only a couple feet away, standing there. We were waiting to hear his orders on what we were doing. Hans looked over at me and said, "Ok, Davilia. You're going to heal his hand. Very basic healing. I taught you how to visualize this healing so get started on his hand and then we'll move onto Primrose, who will heal his other hand."

I hovered my hand over Vatu's. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then I started stretching out my awareness. I felt a large pulse in my forehead and my body stiffened. A cold wave of awareness washed through my body and I felt the universe speaking to me. I opened my eyes and looked down at Vatu. I could see it. I could see his aura; the bright red collection of energy that surrounded his body. Auras weren't normally red, well…ok for Khajiits it was normally yellow or orange so to see red was a bad sign. Surrounding the red aura was an under-layer of black and gray. The strings of black and gray led up to Vatu's eyes.

I focused on those strings and felt instant knowledge flow into my mind. Thoughts of rage, invincibility, and determination for survival filled my head. I watched as hundreds of Khajiits' visions turned red and they charged in to battle their foes with enough determination and rage to kill anyone in their way. I was certain that these black and gray colors were Vatu's bloodrage mode.

I pulled my thoughts off of those colors and instead, focused my attention on his hand. I hovered my hand over his and I felt the pulsing vibrations of his broken claw flow through mine. I closed my eyes and focused harder on what was underneath Vatu's hand. The fur burned away in my mind and I could see the redness in my muscles. I could see all the distorted broken energy, the shattered bones, the torn muscles. I started with the distorted energy. I flowed my own energy into his and started moving it around.

Lesson one: Energy flows through energy currents in the body. They travel in the body like blood does and it can get clogged up just like blood. When this happens it can bring dis-balance to the body; slowing down cellular healing or even causing nausea, fatigue, or even death. If I wanted to heal Vatu properly, I would have to start on healing all his energy channels.

I sighed and looked back up at Hans. He looked down at me expectantly. I said, "Sir, I can't properly heal his hand until we reconstruct his energy pathways."

Hans smiled and said, "Good girl. It only took you a minute to figure that out and remember it. So, here's what you and Primrose are going to do." He stood up and walked over to us. "Dragon's Tongue. It's an herb we collect very often and it will help assist him in healing his energy ways. Unfortunately, we don't have any of that here so we can't use any. Here's another little secret: If we don't heal Vatu by two days' time, he might not wake up. He could die if we don't fix his body well enough. We start with the heart and then the energy lines."

Primrose looked down and said, "Then why did you tell us to heal his hand?"

"Because I wanted to see if you learned anything. I would have stopped Davilia if she started healing his hand. Seriously; who starts with a hand when you have internal bleeding, a weakened heart, broken bones, and possibly a skull fracture? Answer; Sister Marie." Hans said as he looked over at Vatu. "Probing Vatu's mind, like I did earlier, Sister Marie would probably just throw holy water in his face. He really seems to hate it."

He pointed down at Vatu again and said, "Ok, so here's what we need to do. Davilia, you focus on healing Vatu's heart. I want you to make sure all his blood vessels in his body are reconstructed and ready to flow blood normally. You need to do this while repairing his heart so that it keeps pumping blood. If he stays clinically dead for too much longer it won't matter if we fix his energy lines."

Hans looked at Primrose and said, "and you will fix Vatu's energy lines. Even if we get his blood flowing, if his energy isn't flowing correctly his spirit might slip away from his body. That means he'll be dead." He brushed his thick beard and said, "I will stand by and watch. I'm no healer, not like you two but I know enough to help you as you learn."

I looked over at Primrose, who looked back at me. She brushed a long strand of green hair away from her brown eyes and said, "Ready?" She seemed just fine with being this close to a clinically dead body. Was this what she wanted to be? I knew she was training as a healer, but to put up with this on a daily basis? Who would enjoy this?

I nodded and started focusing on Vatu's heart. I placed both of my hands right above his heart. I started feeling the blood flowing weakly through his body. A map of all his blood vessels seemed to materialize in my mind. Most of them were shot and the blood was just collecting and some of it was turning around. I would actually have to fry the blood clots; otherwise they could kill Vatu if they were ever to get loose and get stuck in his brain or heart…or anywhere else for that matter.

I willed my energy to flow into his heart. I visualized the heart healing and as I was visualizing it, a golden energy flew out of my palm and onto his chest. The golden energy flowed from that spot to around his whole body. Instantly, I felt the entire weight of the world crash onto my forehead. I could see everything. He had paralyzed muscles from shock spells, burnt skin from fire, burnt blood vessels from fire spells as well. His muscles were all torn and useless, his own mind was locked in a small box while his body waited in recovery mode.

My mind was so focused that it started to hurt. I could feel my mind stretching and pulling…it was too much pain for me to handle. I grabbed my head, screamed, and threw myself away from Vatu. Almost instantly, I felt a snap from my mind, like something forcefully broke inside me. I felt myself crash into my own body, as well as onto the floor. My head was spinning, and the room was too. I opened my eyes to see but all I could see was a dark green contrast to everything around me. My eyes wouldn't focus and I couldn't tell what was going on around me.

I felt Hans reach out and grab me by the shoulders. "Davilia? You ok?"

I sighed. The feeling was going away. I continued to sit there until my forehead stopped hurting. "Sir…what just happened?"

Hans said, "Your third eye is not used to being used like this. It over-activated. There is good news though." He picked me up and walked me over to Vatu's body.

I looked down at him. I could see the change in his aura. The dark red energy that had covered it before was now replaced with bright yellow and gray lines. The gray lines I knew were connected to his bloodline trait of the red eye condition. I instinctually reached out with my hand and started feeling him. It was all healed. His muscles were regenerating, his blood vessels were fixed. The blood clots were dissolved, and his heart was beating stronger than ever.

Primrose groaned out a complaint as she stepped back and grabbed her forehead as well. She shook it off and said, "Sir, chakras are spinning correctly and all energy lines have been repaired."

Hans looked at us and said, "Ok, girls. There is only one more thing you must do. In this state of unconsciousness, Vatu has locked himself in his own mind. I need you two to go in and get him unlocked."

What? He wants us to go in and…unlock him? How is that even possible?

"You will have to do an astral projection to get inside his mind. Now…when you get in there, it won't be like anything you've ever seen. Rules….there are none. You might be able to fly; you might not be able to move. That is why I'm coming with you. I know how to change the rules. Vatu is locked in his own mind and now we have to go in and get him out. Are you ready?"

I looked over at Primrose. She looked shocked but when she looked at me, she looked fine with it. I looked back at Vatu. What type of stuff were we going to see in there anyway? I guess it would be nice to see what goes on in his head. I nodded and said, "Sir, we're ready."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ohh, the next few chapters will be extremely fun to rewrite. So much I can't wait to add._


	33. Ch 33: Day Dream

**Cearbhail:**_ Wow, this chapter was surprising to me. I had no idea where this was going until it ended. I hope everyone enjoys it and... I know what the next story is going to be. Once I have completed the Khajiit Battlemage, I'll be immediatly starting on the Rogue Shadowscale. It will be the sequel to this story, but don't worry. This story won't end for a good while yet but i'm already thinking about how to start it._

_Anyway, let me know what you think of this._

* * *

><p>-Davilia-<p>

Astral projection? I had no idea what astral projection was until Hans slipped some type of necklace over our necks. All the sudden, I felt a pull on my body and I felt my spirit separate. Looking around, I could see my body sitting against the wall. Primrose was just now pulling herself out of her body and Hans was just slipping his own necklace around his neck.

Primrose floated up to me and nodded. I'm guessing she tried to talk because she opened her mouth. No words came out and she looked down for a second before closing it. She looked over at Hans and pointed. I looked over as well. Hans was pulling himself out of his body's head. His foot got stuck for a second but he eventually pulled it out. He sailed up to us. _To speak, you must visualize your mind connecting to another's. From there you must 'send' them messages. It's hard to explain but you'll get the hang of it eventually._

I watched as Hans floated up to Vatu. _To enter his mind, you must reach into his 'dream bubble'. Once you reach inside it, just pull yourself in. I'm sure we'll have to something interesting to fight once we get in because Vatu is a defender. I'm sure his mind is defensive against invasion so I'm sure we'll have something fun to do once we get in. I'll go first._

Hans reached up to Vatu's head and then suddenly, a giant clear blob started forming around Vatu's head. Hans reached inside and suddenly, he just sucked himself in. I looked over at Primrose, who looked over at me. _Go ahead, Davilia. I'll follow._

She already figured out how to communicate with me? Man, she was good. I looked at Vatu, who still looked like a corpse, but one that breathed now. I glided up to him, surprised at how easily I took to moving without moving my feet. Silently, I pondered the idea of actually gliding up and flying in the sky but somehow I knew that the further I traveled away from my body the closer I was from not coming back to it. Looking back down at Vatu, I placed my hand near Vatu's head and suddenly, my hand seemed to touch a giant bubble of thoughts.

I could feel the electric pulse of it; the feel of worry, anxiety, even horror. If this was Vatu's mind, it was a mind of nightmares to be sure. I could see blood, eyes glaring from every direction, screaming. This place was already sending shudders down my spine. I looked at Primrose and thought, _"I can feel his mind. It's so chaotic and evil so be careful coming in."_ Primrose only nodded back at me. Good, she received my message. Talking seemed to be second nature at least. I reached up at the bubble and forced my hand through. It felt weird for a second, like it was impossible, but then my hand just popped in. I started to force more of my hand in, but I felt a pull on my body. I closed my eyes as I felt my body fly through time and space.

I felt my body come to a stop. My feet planted on something solid, like I was no longer floating in mid-air. I opened my eyes and looked around. Hans stood next to me and nodded. "It's ok, Davilia. I've walked around; there are no traps, no enemies, and no exclusive rules. Vatu's surface mind is like the regular world. I must advise caution, though. The deeper we go, the harder it will become to go deeper. Every surface mind is based on the rules of society and the real world, but the deeper parts of the mind run by their own rules. We need to be careful."

Primrose popped in next to me. I jumped to the side as my Bosmer friend fell to her butt. She looked up and said, "Are we here? Where's Vatu?" She stood up and looked around. "Better yet, where are we?"

I started to look around as well. It was like we were in a beautiful garden. The sun was bright and the garden was beautiful; decorated with pretty flowers, bunny rabbits hopping around, and birds chirping on some awnings. It was very..

…

Girly. It was very girly. I could not believe that my best friend, who rakes the necks of archers, collects locks of hair from dead victims, and licks himself in inappropriate places… had a girly mind. I looked over at Hans and said, "This is the mind of our blood-shedding cat? Bunnies and flowers?"

Primrose walked up next to me, looking around. "I can believe it. He does seem very sweet."

"Welcome to the Garden of Love." I heard someone call. From around one of the bushes decorated with bright red roses, a green Argonian with pockets of purple scales around the cheeks and neck walked out into sight. She wore a long white robe that seemed to flow off of her like she was an angel. The light of the garden just seemed to follow her in a beautiful arc that always kept her illuminated. She was holding one of the rabbits. "I am Nexa, Vatu's soulmate. This is my domain. Is there something you need help with?" Nexa sat down on a small chair, petting the small rabbit in her webbed claws.

Hans crossed his arms and said, "Soulmate? You're Vatu's one and only soulmate?"

Nexa nodded. "Yes, we've been tied together since we first met. He might not know it yet, but we complete each other. Every time our souls are redesigned in new bodies, we will search for each other until we are united again. It is this was with every two souls. This generation, I am designed as an Argonian by the name of Nexa and he a Khajiit by the name of Vatu."

I looked around. I had no idea that souls were recreated every time we died…and that we had one soulmate that we were made to be with. "So, we're only made to live with the same soul over and over again as our mates?"

Nexa shook her head. "A soulmate and a lover are two different things. A soulmate fills another's missing spot of their own soul, making them complete. The two can easily be friends their whole lives while loving someone else. Without a soulmate around, the incomplete soul will feel restless and sometimes lonely even while in love with another. I serve as Vatu's current soulmate, whether or not he loves me is up to him. And it is up to the souls' choice to be reincarnated. Living an eternity as one specific being can become rather boring. So, when we are tired of living in our afterlife, we both decided to come back as the same races as we were originally. This also keeps the after-plains from overfilling with too many souls. Eternity is a long time and if new souls were created over and over again, our specific heavens would become too full to house new ones. This helps create balance in both the living and the dead space. In a sense, Vatu and I are one soul. We complete each other, but we don't have to exist as lovers to be so."

Hans walked up to me and said, "I'm sure you'll understand eventually." He looked over at Nexa. "We need to find Vatu. He's locked away somewhere in this jungle of a mind and we need to set him free."

Nexa frowned and looked down at her rabbit. "Vatu is trapped in the Sen'la'gar circle. It is a plane of nightmares and twisted demons. It is a cage of his own design; filled with a life of running, fighting to live, and fighting to keep his sister alive. His worse fears are eating away at him since he is very close to death. If his life fades, so much could happen. He does not yet realize that most of what he fears has already come to pass. He is back to his days as a young cub, just after his parents were killed. This is not a good place to exist within. He is fighting for his life and you need to help him take his mind back before he loses it to his inner demons. I will open the door, but I cannot follow. I wish I was the fighter I am outside this mind, but in here…I am merely a desire for longing. If I follow, I might be corrupted."

Hans shrugged and said, "If you follow us; you might transform into the fighter you are in real life. You could be able to help us fight. If he dies, so will you. You are his mind's recreation of his soulmate; so it should be your duty to help him fight his battles. Right?"

Nexa looked up at Hans. She bent down and let the rabbit jump from her hands. She rose back up and said, "Yes, I agree. I will open the door and I will follow you through. Whether or not I can fight is up to Vatu when I move to his darker mind." She turned around and clasped her hands. A giant portal started forming in front of her. "Follow behind me or you will become lost in the recesses of his mind. Once we are done with our battle, you must escape before he wakes. If you do not, you may become trapped in his mind for the rest of his life." Nexa jumped into the portal.

I looked at Primrose and Hans. Hans nodded to me and jumped in. I closed my eyes and jumped in. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but I could feel the giant push of anger and hatred fall down on my shoulders. The air felt thick and the feel of the state of mind what chaotic at best. Where was I? I was in oblivion as far as I could tell.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_So, we find out that Vatu does in fact have a soulmate in Nexa. I guess I should have expressed his interest in her from the beginning and that he felt connected to her but honestly, I just thought it up. Anyway, hope you enjoy the next chapter, I will try my best to make it a living hell.__


	34. Ch 34: Torture drainage

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, I had fun thinking this one up. I'm not sure if you all know this, but I suffer from weakly night terrors so...I'm going to just unload my nightmares onto you readers for the next couple of chapters.. Enjoy... MHUAHAHAHA. Anyway, blood, blood, some vomit... more blood, crap, urine, blood. And to finish it up, rotting corpses. Oh and more vomit. Hey, it's rated 'M'. Why'd ya think I did it?_

* * *

><p>-Davilia-<p>

So, I mentioned that I felt overwhelmed, right? Did I mention that it was pitch-black? Did I mention that I felt waist deep in some foul liquid that was not water? No, it was too thick and sticky to be water. I remember the feeling once before and the smell too…but for some reason I was drawing a blank on it. Oh and there was one more thing I should mention…

…

My magic doesn't work. That's right… all four of us were gathered here and none of us had any magical abilities. I kept checking my hands for a simple spark or maybe even a flare, but I kept getting nothing. I felt detached from my own powers, like something here was keeping them locked in. It wouldn't be so bad, if I could see anything. I might as well had my eyelids glued shut. Not to mention I was afraid to move from my spot. How did I know that if I stepped even one inch away that I wouldn't fall through a ten foot hole in this giant gooey trap?

"Ew…" Primrose said. I could hear her sloshing around in the liquid. "What is this stuff?"

"Trust me; you don't want to know." That was Hans. He sounded like he had been in this stuff before already. I couldn't help but shift my weight and hope that whatever it was didn't solidify around me. I could still hear Primrose sloshing around, probably moving forward.

"I believe we are in a drainage system located underneath a torture chamber once used by ancient necromancers." Nexa called out. Of course she would know where we were; she was part of this dream world. She was living data of what was actually going on inside this universe.

"A drainage system underneath a torture chamber? Wait…are we waist deep in…" Primrose started, her voice starting to crack as she started to realize what I already knew.

"That's right, Bosmer friend of Vatu. We are waist deep in blood, stool, and urine." Nexa said.

Primrose started screaming out in disgust while I leaned over. Thoughts of what was now underneath me caused my stomach to turn. I couldn't hold in the rising bile growing in my throat. I puked out everything I could possibly imagine. My face was inches away from the liquid and now I could smell the individual liquids: the vomit, the old urine, old smelling crap, but the blood was surprisingly subdued compared to everything else going on.

"And now the liquids include stomach acids." Nexa said.

"It doesn't matter what we're covered in. What I want to know is; why can't I summon my magicka?" Hans asked.

"We are in an ancient necromancer fortress. Back in the old days they had devices to contain magical beings. I believe that we are in one of the old-fashioned magic prisoner fortresses. I might not understand fully what is going on, but Vatu is somewhere within this fortress and we need to free him. This fortress represents the mental walls that we must break through to get to his real mind."

I blinked again, hoping that I could make out a difference in the limit light this time. No…if anything I could see more light with my eyes closed than I could with them open. "Shouldn't we start moving? I mean; we aren't going to get anywhere just standing in this…these…inner body substances."

"Yes, I am calculating the area we are in. Searching…" Nexa said.

I waited in my spot now understanding what I found so familiar with the stickiness of what I was standing in. Once I heard that it was blood, I started to think of when the Orc's blood rained down on me when I was tied up in the closet. I remember just how awful it felt, how bad it smelled, and that's what made me vomit. Thinking about it again made my stomach turn again. I leaned over and puked out a second helping.

"Dav? Stop it…I can feel that rolling towards me. It's really warm and disgusting…and smelly." Primrose screamed out in horror. I heard her step away from me, then she yelped and I heard a larger splash. I heard more splashing along with Primrose spitting out. She screamed out in horror. "Oh…my…gods…Vatu, I am going to kill you for making me go through this."

I rose up and took small shallow breaths. I couldn't continue to sit in here much longer. The smell was starting to get to me and if we didn't get out of here soon, I was sure that I was going to pass out on the smell alone. There was something else in here that was entering my nose and it wasn't oxygen. If we continued to stay down here, I was sure that I would stop taking in safe amounts of breathable air. My rising light-headedness should be enough indication of that, let alone my suddenly tiring body. "Sorry, Rose. Old memory made me sick is all." I called out to her, short of breath.

Primrose only sighed and I heard some sloshing around. "It's ok, Dav. It's not your fault, it's not my fault…it's no one's fault…I hope."

"Search complete." Nexa called out robotically. I kept forgetting that she was a part of this reality so she actually knew what was going on. I heard her moving and then I heard her dive under the sewage. I felt something shake underneath me and slowly I felt the sewage pulling away from me. It picked up speed and I felt it lowering from my waist. I heard Nexa burst through the sewage…some of which splashed on my face. "I have punched through the floor to drain out this bodily flood mix. If we continue on for thirty meters forward, there will be a turning mechanism that will raise the gate leading out. It can only be turned when the room is flushed, which it will be in a couple of minutes."

So, we waited. We waited until I could feel the gunk at my heels. Nexa finally started walking away from us and I listened to her walk. I would have followed her, but the sound of her sloshing through the sewage reverberated off the walls. I couldn't pinpoint her location and apparently no one else could too because no one else moved from their spot.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Davilia?" Hans asked.

"Yeah, that's me." I said.

I heard a loud _crank _and suddenly, a small but the brightest light I'd ever seen in my life started peeking through the wall. With another _crank_, the light grew larger and brighter. I turned my head away and glanced around. I could see the room we were in now. I threw my head down and vomited again, but this time it wasn't because of the smell, it was because of what I saw.

Once I finished, I looked away from the wall I glanced upon. I didn't need to see the lines and lines of decomposing bodies hung by the neck along the wall with surgical cuts lining their bodies. My eyes fell onto another wall filled with just as many bodies shackled up by their necks. Was this were all the blood came from? I looked up to see where all the nooses were tied up too. There was a giant iron grate above us. So, we were literally right above a torture chamber and when they were done playing with their toys…they threw them down here to die. I wondered how long all that stuff sat down here. Just thinking about it threw me down for a dry heave (mostly because I was dry myself).

"If you are done adding to the future supply of body fluids for this room, can we get moving?" Nexa called out patiently.

I forced myself back onto my feet. My body was shaken but I felt a new anger at these monsters that captured my friend. So, this was Vatu's mind? He openly thought about places like this? When did he ever create such a place of torture? Was he kept here once or something? I did not know what to think, but I knew that I would never underestimate him ever again. If he could create this in his mind….I wasn't sure what to think about him anymore. I looked over at Nexa, the only being in this place that could give me a logical answer about what I was seeing. "Sure. But…did Vatu create all this or is this just here?"

Nexa tilted her head to the side. It seemed that my question either was not understood, or she was caught off guard for a second. Finally, she blinked and said, "Vatu created all this in his subconscious. We are in his nightmare world; his fears, his worries…we will see them before we find him. This room does hold some significance for our young Vatu, though. When he was first starting out after his parents were killed, he ventured into one of these ruins under the orders of the Mages Guild for a recommendation. He found necromancers who captured him and performed experiments. He was tied up to the pole above us and he was actually looking down into this pool of blood and bodies when he created this room as one of his deeper fears. He feared that this was how he was going to die: without his sister in a dark place covered in blood. This room is the surface of where he was afraid to be. I expect we will witness worse than this room. I expect to find myself dying slowly and painfully, as well as his sister. I suspect this because he also fears these things. I will not expect to live through this so if I die, I want you to know that Vatu will no longer feel love towards anyone. I am his conscious thinking of the feeling of attachment and purpose for love. If I die, so will his longing for a partner."

She said it so casually but I could tell that she was upset about leaving her garden. Hans crossed his arms. "Now, wait a second. I've been on these rodeos before and I've seen certain aspects of the mind die…and it never affected the person afterward."

Nexa smiled briefly. "Thank you for your kind words. I cannot say for certain if I will fade away with my death or merely reform in my garden. I hope what you say is true…I would hate for Vatu to suffer for my interference."

For the first time, I could see what Nexa was wearing. She was dressed in dark leather armor with an array of weapons ranging from daggers to a bow across her back. I said, "So…you're a fighter now?"

Nexa nodded. "Yes, Vatu's nightmare realm has equipped me with protection against death. It seems that Vatu does not wish to see me die in his nightmares…for which I am thankful. You all have armor and weapons too."

I looked down and noticed for the first time that I was wearing armor and I had my Daedric dragger attached to my belt. Weird…I didn't have to summon it here, but then again how could I summon something in someone else's dream? I guess this is how Vatu thought of me; a battlemage with a Daedric dagger. Thanks Vatu. I looked over at Primrose, who was dressed in simple robes.

She looked down at her blood-stained blue robe and said, "That's it? A robe?"

Hans pointed at her back and said, "You have a staff."

She grabbed the staff and closed her eyes. She sighed. "I guess I'm just not a fighter in Vatu's eyes. It's enchanted with Magelight…I hate him."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Just so you know, that is just the beginning of some of the funnest chapters ever known. It only gets better, less bloody, but better. You'll see. Primrose by the end of this will be dead afraid of the cat she 'loves'. Oh wait... did I just ruin the surprise? Oh well =^.^=__


	35. Ch 35: Nightmare lane

**Cearbhail:**_ This is a good chapter. It may be an empty chapter with almost no action going on but it's still pretty good, I think. It's all about those types of nightmares where you get chased around by some person or creature that always finds you no matter what you do._

* * *

><p>-Davilia-<p>

I never thought that air could smell so good. With no more ammonia from all the urine polluting the air and my lungs, I could feel my head beginning to liven up again. I mean, I could still smell the damp musty air that all dungeons had but at least it wasn't ancient blood and feces. That smell would have eventually killed me if it had the chance. My body was still shaking from everything that I had encountered, but now that I was out of the room, walking through a hallway leading to nowhere, I was finding myself relaxed again.

After a few meters of walking away from the room, Nexa froze in her spot. Hans turned around, looking behind us. Nexa turned around to face us. She nodded to Hans and said, "I am sure you do not need to be told this, but if your body here dies…you die in real life."

That stopped both Primrose and me. Primrose brushed her hair out of her eyes and said, "Wait, what? If we die in here…we die out there?" She looked down at her blood-covered robe. "And all I'm wearing are bloody robes with a staff that shoots a tiny ball of light…great." She sighed as she slid down against the wall. "Davilia, just leave me here because I'm sure I'm not making it through this."

I walked down to Primrose and grabbed her by her sleeve. "Nuh-uh. I am not going alone with Hans the Almighty and a figment Argonian who has a crush on our friend." I pulled her up on her feet. "Besides, you'll be fine. Why do you think you would die here?"

She sighed. "I used to read books about a team of adventures that go off and fight evil. Sometimes, it would be the same team and sometimes there would be a last addition to team. …It always ends with the new guy dying… and that's me. I'm the new person in your team. Even though, I'm pretty sure I knew Vatu before you or Erandur."

Hans silenced both of us and said, "Will you two be quiet for a second and just listen to the Argonian who has a crush on your best friend for a second? You might learn something very important." He gestured over to Nexa and nodded. "Please, tell them why they might die here."

Nexa nodded. "You are in your spirit forms. If part of your spirit breaks, it does not grow back until it's back in the body to recuperate. If your spirit dies in here, you won't have a soul to put back in your body."

"So let me get this straight," I started out. "We're in the middle of Vatu's mind's warzone and we're going to get ourselves caught right in the middle of it…nightmares so scary that you're afraid that you will die…and we're still just going in knowing that we can die?"

Primrose sunk back down and started crying. "I'm going to die in someone's mind!"

Hans looked over at me. "Davilia, Primrose, you're both overreacting. Vatu's nightmares may be dangerous but I'm sure there is nothing too powerful that we cannot handle." He walked in front of Primrose and me and said, "I'll take the front, Nexa will be behind me and you two will stay in the back. We'll find Vatu, wake him up, and get back to our bodies so that we can get you all on your final test and then out to the battlefield to fight these Aedra."

That was Hans way of giving us an inspiring speech. So, we started walking down the only corridor leading from the bloody basin room. We walked…and walked…and walked. We continued to walk the same corridor over and over again, seeming like we were going around in circles. I had plenty of time to look around while we continued walking. The walls were original blocks piled and smoothed with torches burning in their slots. Cobwebs could be seen occasionally where the wall met the ceiling just a few feet above our heads. It wasn't something too scary and I could feel my magicka slowly returning to me. It was nice to feel magic burn on my fingers.

After hours of continuous walking, Nexa stopped walking, causing me to bump into her. The sudden stop and the noise of me gasping as I crashed into Nexa caused everyone to stop as well. Hans turned around to face us.

He looked over at Nexa and then started scanning around, reaching for his weapon. "What's up? Does it have to do with the looping track we've been walking across?"

Nexa nodded. "I have been analyzing our situation for the past hour and we have not made any progress in our journey. It seems that the torture chamber was designed as the beginning of the nightmare where the hero escapes and then runs down a never-ending hallway while being chased by some invincible faster enemy. Vatu encountered a similar experience when he was being chased by a zombie two years ago. The hallways he ran in is the same one we are running in now. Since we are not the main character in this world, we have not engaged the chase scenario but we are still lost in this hallway."

Hans rubbed his beard. He looked lost for words. "So, what do we do then?"

Nexa closed her eyes. "Changing dream scenario. I have rewritten the scenario so that I am the main character but my foe is not invincible to my allies, only to me. So, I will be chased, you battlemages will have to kill it before it kills me." She said.

Just like that, the environment changed. The torches dimmed and a cold mist started seeping into my skin. The entire atmosphere seemed foreboding, like I knew what was about to happen, but a part of me didn't want to acknowledge it. I found my eyes pulling down the hallway, looking for something dark and immensely powerful that had a taste for my blood. That feeling of dread and pure hatred just pouring down on me, like it was focused on me, even though I knew that its target was Nexa. The feeling was so powerful that I almost fell forward before anything began to even happen. The hallway started glowing red down toward the end of the now stretched out never-ending tunnel that was developing. The ground started pounding as something started approaching us.

Nexa casually drew her dagger and said, "Please, prepare for combat. I do not wish to be killed before helping you find Vatu. Although I am certain that I will reform, you will be left without a guide through this mind."

I started to reach for my dagger, but it felt like my body was freezing. My body stopped moving and it seemed like time stopped for me, all but what was going on around me. My mind slowed down, my breathing stopped, my heart was pounding through my iron plate. Cold sweats were pouring down my back and my legs felt like they couldn't support me anymore. Even worse, I could still hear and see the approaching dread coming up on us. It was getting closer, and the closer it got, the worse the pressure built in my body. It felt like whatever was coming towards us was already getting in my head, causing my vision to blur and my head to spin. I felt nauseous. I don't know how long I could keep this up. I was going to crack if this continued much longer. My willpower was draining.

Nexa started stepping back. "Overriding initial fear paralysis. One moment."

My hand slowly drifted over to my dagger and I fumbled with the handle. I could move again. It was slow and clumsy, and I am sure that my entire body was numb with no feeling attached, but I could still move. Muscle memory was just as important inside dreams as the ability to feel what you were doing. I found my dagger on my belt and started to unsheathe it. The red glow was growing stronger and I knew that I was only seconds away from fighting whatever it was. Somehow my fingers missed the handle as the knife left the scabbard and the dagger fell from my hands. I jerked downward to grab the knife before it hit the ground, but my growing weak legs only jerked forward instead. This in turn caused me to lose my balance and I fell forward onto my knees.

I finally looked down and grabbed the knife. I felt such a strong feeling of resolve as I grabbed it. Then…I felt the cold breath breathe down across my face. It was a cold, furious, angry breath that felt just as much like death that it did like air. I slowly raised my eyes, hoping that I would see either Hans or Primrose playing a prank on me, but I wasn't that lucky. I only saw a giant troll with black fur with red tips. The beast was easily four times my size, stared down at me with bloodshot eyes that reflected my own face looking at it. I could see my own scared eyes, looking at myself. I could see blood rolling down my face as it bled to death. Was this my future? I didn't know. The troll's face was inches away from mine, his hot breath spraying into my face. I couldn't take my eyes off of him and my heart practically stopped beating for a second.

_Fear_…

A wrangled voice seemed to whisper through my body and my mind.

"Fear paralysis disabled." Nexa said.

That was all that needed to be said before I felt a small feeling of warmth brush over my hair. My eyes snapped shut and the feeling of warmth washed gently over my body. The feeling pushed me back and I found myself skidding a few feet before coming to a stop. I opened my eyes and noticed that the creature was now crawling to its feet, growling at Hans. Hans wasted no time. In a second, he was up on the troll, cutting through it like it was nothing.

Hans flicked the blood off of his claymore and turned back to me. "You ok, Davilia?"

I nodded lightly and he took that as the best answer he was going to get. I stumbled to get back up on my feet and I walked robotically up to my dagger. I picked it up and sheathed it back into my belt. What just happened? Was this what nightmares were like? I wouldn't know, because I've never had one about this type of stuff. My nightmares included Daedra Lords invading Tamriel or losing my homework to my class and then somehow losing my pants or shirt. Maybe Erandur walking in on the cave where Stros had his hands running over me. Then, Erandur would see us…together and, I don't know, kill himself or see some part of me that he shouldn't see. Those were nightmares, this…this…I didn't know what this was.

Nexa walked up to us and said, "Scenario complete. We have completed the chase scenario. Now we move onto the invasion scenario where we will combat in a battle against an enemy force. Another common theme in Vatu's nightmares, brought upon by the invasion of the Imperial City. Do not expect Daedra, though. Vatu has a strong fear of vampires because of an earlier experience with one. So expect some type of undead."

Now we were moving onto an invasion? Well, that was something I at least knew how to fight.

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><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>Ok, next chapter will be pretty action packed. I will make it as strong as possible._


	36. Ch 36: Invasion

**Cearbhail:**_ Another fun chapter. A little more light humored and talky for an invasion scenario. Anyway, enjoy._

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><p>-Davilia-<p>

So, when I thought that we cleared the chase scenario that we'd just…I don't know… puff away. That wasn't the case. After Nexa looked down at the dead beast, grabbed some key from around its neck, and turned around and started walking away. Then we continued walking down the hallway for a couple minutes before we came up at the end of the hallway with a single door leading out.

Nexa reached up for the doorknob and said, "Beware, once I open this door, we will be out in the open where the world is corrupted and nearly everyone is dead." She pulled out her key and slid it into the lock. Then she turned the lock and looked back at us. "Prepare."

I took that as my cue to unsheathe my dagger. I fell back into a backhand grip and held it close to me. Nexa opened the door and stepped out. Hans held his hand for us to stay where we were and he poked his head out. He stepped out next and then looked back in and nodded us through. So, I stepped through with Primrose at my side, who looked just as scared as I felt on the inside.

As I left the door, I looked around. We were inside the Imperial City or…what was left of it. Buildings looked old and in disrepair, some of the doors were broken in. Trash and dead bodies littered the corners of the roads; some were just lying in the doorway. I wasn't sure how long the bodies had stayed like this, but I was sure this didn't just happen. They looked almost mummified, like they had been sitting there for years.

The door behind us snapped shut, disappearing into the wall. Primrose shot around, looking at the wall in surprise. "Hey! Where's the door?"

Nexa turned to face us. "The door that led here is no longer in existence. This world could not become an active scenario with a door leading to somewhere else. We are now in Vatu's nightmare world, where anything can and most likely will happen." She turned around, looking around. "He could be anywhere. If we are lucky, we will encounter more dream survivors. Most likely people he knows in the present."

So, that last sentence left us standing in the ever so quiet realm that was once the Imperial City. Primrose seemed to look around, looking for something. "Right…" She said as she spotted an armor store. She looked back at me and smiled. "Hey…Davilia?" She smiled even deeper, trying to look like she appreciated me as a friend. I don't know why, but I felt some sort of dark feeling of…well, almost hatred wash over me. She and I were not friends, why was she suddenly looking at me like I saw her best friend?

I only sighed and looked over at her and nodded. "Yes, Primrose?"

She frowned. "Can you cover me while I grab some armor and perhaps a sword?"

I found myself almost chuckling at her comment. She was still covered in her blood-stained robe that seemed to barely cling to her figure. She was so skinny that I almost felt a little jealous, if not only because my figure itself was replaced by some thickening muscle. I was still very skinny, as all elves were, but I was almost as thick as a normal skinny Imperial.

She found me laughing at her and her face blushed in a deep red as she covered her body with her arms. "Hey! What's so funny?" She asked as she looked down at her robe.

I only shook my head. "Nothing. Come, on. Let's get some appropriate gear."

Primrose and I started separating from Hans and Nexa, who were now investigating the dead bodies littering the streets. As we made our way to the armor shop, I took a moment to look around. There weren't as many bodies as I would have expected there to be. I wonder what happened in this area that led to the fall of this town. I was drawn back to Primrose as she opened the door to the shop and stepped inside. She looked back out and said, "I don't see anyone. Do you just want to wait out here while I change?"

Honestly, I kept coming back to that I didn't know her that well and that may have affected my decision to just nod my head. "Yeah, I'll wait out here. Just holler if you see or hear anything abnormal. Don't forget we are in Vatu's nightmare world." Primrose only nodded before closing the door behind her. I leaned against the wall, looking out for anything that might be different, suspicious. This place just seemed dark, empty. It seemed like whatever happened here, already happened and then it just moved on. I sure hoped that is what was going on.

"Hey!" Someone almost whispered.

My eyes pulled me away from my spot and I found the source of the voice in a window above me. A Redguard, who I recognized as Thomas, was looking down at me. I nodded up at him and said, "Thomas. What happened here?"

When he noticed I was talking to him, he pulled his head back in and snapped the window shut behind him. That only caused me to freak out a little. Suddenly, the world seemed a lot darker. The air seemed to cool, the clouds were rolling in with lightning flashing in the background. The sound of thunder was starting to roar in. It had both Nexa and Hans looking up from the dead bodies. Hans looked over at me and that pretty much told me to come over to where he was.

So, I jogged up to meet them. Hans welcomed me in the second that I walked up to him and said, "These bodies were killed by bites. They were forcefully killed by snapping the necks… so, these are zombies. Get Primrose out here now, we need to get to elevated land." I nodded and turned to leave.

"You all need to get out of the street before they come back." A small voice called from a doorway not too far away.

We all looked to the source of the voice. There, in a creaked doorway, was Erandur. He looked different; he was dressed in in prison clothes, the old dingy gray shirt and ripped up pants. His hair was almost falling off of his head and his face looked like someone smudged charcoal on his face. He nodded to us and said, "Get in here before they find you."

Hans started to walk up to him but I said, "Before who finds us?" It felt nice to see Erandur again, even if he looked aged and infected with who knows how many skin diseases.

Just like that…the world changed. I thought that it was getting colder and more evil, but this was instant. It was like whatever I just said solidified this world's existence. Clouds instantly grew dark and rain started lightly falling down on us. Erandur quickly slammed the door on us and now we were locked outside. I looked around, a new feeling of being watched washed over me. I felt Nexa come up on my back. She felt cold compared to what I thought she felt like. I looked back at her and said, "What do you think? Liches…you know because we just fought them outside?"

Hans shook his head. "No, Vatu wrecked them. He wouldn't be scared of liches."

My eyes drifted to the dead body lying in the doorway in front of me. I felt some dread coming from there and suddenly, the eyes from the dead body drifted from the ground up to my eyes. I felt a cold shivering heart-stopping sensation wash over me. The body's head rolled off the door and the body started convulsing. The body fell forward and it rolled down the small staircase. It hit the ground and it just sat there, looking completely immobile. Then, the body jerked and its head looked up at me. It opened its mouth and all I heard was, "Wuuuuaaahh." It moaned so loudly that I thought the whole world heard us.

Time stopped. Hans looked back at me and said, "Zombies. Loria! We're in a world dominated by.." Loud moaning seemed to flow from all around us. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see moving bodies now creeping around the buildings now. All the dead bodies that seemed to litter the floor started to rise off the ground. Hans looked back at me and said, "Don't worry. Zombies are slow, so we'll…" He was cut off again by some zombie in the lead leaning forward and screaming out a loud war-cry.

I brought my dagger up. The zombies behind him pushed forward and outright sprinted up to us. The moved fast, so fast that they looked blurry as they came up to us. Hans was already jumping back, preparing some magical defenses to fight the zombies with. The first zombie that reached me managed to run into me and throw me off my feet and onto my back. It, just as fast, flew down to bite me. I brought my dagger up and thrust it right through its head. The zombie crumbled under my stab but that left several zombies still already reaching down to bite me.

I thought of my new and improved Destruction skill set. Zombies. What did I learn about zombies? I had to think fast; one of them was already grabbing me by my arm and getting himself ready to clamp down. Wait a second…Conjuration. I activated my Conjuration armor list in the back of my head, sending a mental prayer to Azura. Almost within that same second, red conjuring mist poofed all over my body. I could already tell that my body was covered in Daedric armor. With my protection, the zombies now biting down on my arms were no capable of killing me than they were of infecting me.

I sent my thanks to Azura and summoned a ring of fire around my body. The giant wave of fire spread over all the zombies coming at me. I rose from my back while zombies cried out in their horror as they burned. My armor poofed back off but I was ok with that. I knew how these zombies were able to move so fast. They were flashing; something I forgot that we were all taught.

I heard a scream from the armor shop. It was Primrose. I turned to the armor shop to see the door fly open and Primrose was beginning to sprint out of the building. Something grabbed her and pulled her back in. I heard her scream again but then her scream instantly died. I felt the world stop for a second as I continued to look at the shop. I was hoping to see Primrose run outside, but all I saw was a zombie ambling out of the doorway.

My heart started to sink. Did…did Primrose just die? As soon as the zombie left the doorway, fire exploded through the windows, the doorway, and most of the rest of the building. Out of the exploding building came Primrose, dressed in cull chainmail armor, two fire-magicka infused short-swords in her arms. She looked angry. She nodded to me and began fighting the zombies. She looked like she was comfortably punching and kicking the zombies with her paralyzing and draining life skill set.

I looked over at Hans, who looked bored. Fire, lightning, and frost roared out of his fingers and onto the zombies in front of him. Nexa was a blur to me. She would slash at something, vanish into a dark mist, reappear in more dark mist that appeared out of nowhere, and then killed something from behind. Then she would vanish in another puff of darkness, probably the same one and then reappear someplace else. Her entire area looked like a dark mist fest which probably served as a distraction as well as a teleportation device.

I turned my attention back to my fight. I could have held all that armor on, but Daedra armor was heavy as oblivion and if I wanted to get around, I was going to have to be light as a feather. So, looking at the zombies in front of me and the two daggers in both of my hands, I was good to go. I flashed up to my first zombie and shoved my dagger up his throat. I spun around, catching a second one through its eyes. I ripped both daggers out and attached explosion spells to them. I threw them both in front of me, into the largest gathering of zombies. The daggers hit the ground and seconds later, the entire area was nothing more than a giant burned zone with flaming zombies moaning out as they scrambled around melting to death.

I saw more coming out from behind me so I looked for options. There was a large building between them and me. That would cause a lot of death and it would block them off. So, using my Telekinesis spells, I pulled the building down onto them. The building was slow to fall, but it did its job. It slammed onto the ground, shaking anyone hear it off their feet. I took that opportunity to blast the survivors of the fall with fire magic. My little opportunity led to Hans and Nexa blasting the area as well. Mostly because this alleyway was where all the zombies were charging through and now we had that area closed off. The building smashed all but one of the closer zombies. The combination of all our magics colliding with the kill field caused the surviving zombies to stumble back for a second, if not to see what just happened. In that time of indecision, I flashed up to the nearest zombie with a palm filled with Frost. I grabbed him by the jaw and froze his mouth shut. Now he couldn't bite me. I brought my hand down and froze his neck. When I heard it start to crack, I let go. Then, I jumped up and roundhouse kicked him. The neck snapped right off. The head of the zombie flew into a group of five or so and then (because of my special spell I placed on it, taking the idea off of Vatu) it exploded. Now, the killing field was clear.

Just like that, the clouds started to lift. The door that was slammed on us began to open and Erandur looked around to make sure it was clear. He rushed out of his house saying, "I can't believe it. You killed them!" He stopped and looked around. "You really _killed_ them! We've been trying for years but…it's just too impossible because when they bite you…you become them. We were slowly being outnumbered. But…you guys killed some, that's good."

Hans held up his hand to silence Erandur. "You're welcome. We're looking for a Khajiit named Vatu. Do you know where we can find him?"

Erandur looked shocked for a second. "Wait…are you talking about the Khajiit that was put in prison a few years ago? He should still be down in the cellar in the Imperial Prison."

Hans nodded his thanks and said, "Please come with us, you'll be safer."

Erandur nodded reluctantly. "Ok, but I'm not a fighter like you guys."

I looked over at him. I couldn't control myself but I physically slapped him across the face. When he recovered from my slap, he only looked at me with curious but fearful eyes. He rubbed his face and said, "What? Why did I deserve that?"

I said, "What the oblivion are you talking about? Yes, you are a fighter! You're one of the best fighters I've ever known." Then I pointed my finger at his nose and leaned in. "Don't you ever disgrace your name by saying that you're not what you are." Just as quick as I did and said what I did, I threw myself back and looked away from him. I bowed deeply and said, "Sorry, it's just that you remind me of my friend."

Hans only smiled and chuckled as he glanced back at me for a second.

Erandur rubbed the spot on his cheek and said, "It's ok. I used to fight, but once the world was overrun, I stopped fighting. Too many of us were being killed off." He stepped in front of us and said, "Just follow me. I'll lead you to the Imperial Prison. If your Khajiit is still there, he'll likely be dead but if you're willing to go, I'm willing to lead."

Hans nodded to him. "We're willing to go. Lead the way."

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><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>Davilia seems to be between being confident and still being shy. When it comes to Erandur, she seems to have this...different personality. It's like she's her real self when he's around. Anyway, next chapter should be nice._


	37. Ch 37: Search and Rescue

**Cearbhail:**_ Revised chapter, finally. Too busy with the Chronicles of Lydia. Anyway, I'm back to doing some other stuff so expect some final revisions, not all of them past this, only selected ones that I want to improve._

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><p>-Davilia-<p>

In silence we followed Erandur. We walked back into the building and he led us upstairs. As we followed behind him, he decided to tell us what happened during to this part of the land. "It seemed to start one person at a time. It seemed easy to deal with, you know, killing one at a time. But then, they started coming from the shadows, getting more and more each time. After a while, they started outnumbering us, but this was still outside the city. Once people inside the town started turning, we barred all the doors and windows and then we used magic to levitate large boards of wood, ten or so to make ourselves a bridge across the rooftops. All the shops were maintained and protected with ward magic. Then we used whatever grain and vegetables we could find in the garden stores to create rooftop gardens to make our own food. It works pretty well. We don't really leave our homes, and if we do it's across the roofs. We kept the infection down on the ground, while we lived up on the roofs and upper floors. There were a good deal of survivors, still are, but we mostly keep to the rooftops these days. I only came down because I noticed you all on the ground, where the zombies lay waiting. Unfortunately, there are no ways for us to leave the city because of this virus being everywhere. I've seen beyond the wall…it's not worth the risk of leaving. They dwell in the water as well, able to swim and breathe underwater…well the Argonians anyway. Don't think that these zombies are smart or anything, they are very stupid and don't understand the basics of opening a door."

Hans looked at Erandur and said, "But we saw a door wide open with a zombie pretending to be dead. That seemed like a very good trap."

Erandur shook his head. "That was not a ploy or a trap; that was a zombie being born. They got him yesterday when he opened the door to a bite victim. We had to clear away all the wood planks leading to his roof, so now any zombies inside that house are trapped on that one roof." Erandur said. He grabbed onto the roof hatch and pushed it open. He grabbed a small ladder lying next to it and placed it up. He climbed up and I followed behind him.

I found myself standing on the roof, dark skies hovering above us with lightning flashing deep within the clouds. I always loved watching thunder flashing underneath clouds; it was something I enjoyed more than reading books. I found it relaxing. Looking up at these clouds now and just how they were infused with dark energy, I did not feel relaxed at all. I feared that I was going to be struck by lightning. That thought alone made it worth standing near Hans…the giant lightning rod.

"This all happened when some necromancer called the King of Worms overtook the Mages Guild. Once he turned all our best mages into zombies and thralls, he started experimenting with more advanced zombie magic. Now they're fast and harder to kill. They're still dumb and they can't figure out what a knob on a door does, but they know how to find and bite us." Erandur was saying as he started leading us across one of the wooden beams.

He looked back at us. "It would be best if you cast Feather on yourselves. This wood can support over 300 pounds, but I don't trust it with my life." I still couldn't believe that Erandur was just standing feet away from me and he hadn't even said 'hello' yet. Sure, he looked back at me like he recognized me, but his eyes would narrow and he'd just shake his head before turning around.

I decided to make the first move. "Erandur." I called out.

He turned his head around at me and said, "You know my name?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've known you for a long time. It's me, Davilia."

He squinted and shrugged. "Sorry, never heard of ya. Actually, I have but you can't be her. The Davilia I heard about is a rotten Dunmer princess. She is one of the Worm King's evil sorcerers. She killed many of my friends. That can't be you, however. Even if you look just like her."

I couldn't believe it. I walked out onto the board of wood and walked right up to him. "What do you mean? I'm evil?"

"Davilia!" Hans called out. "Think about it. We're in an alternate universe created by a circumstance that does not exist. His path never followed where it did, neither did yours. You could be one of these zombies we killed down here for all we know! There is no Mages Guild, no battlemages. You two never met in the classroom. Besides…" Hans started to say but he closed his mouth and stepped back.

"What?" Erandur called out. "Besides what?"

Hans said, "This is only a dream. You aren't real anyway."

I looked back at Erandur, who looked pissed. He smirked oddly and stepped to the edge of the bridge and said, "So…I'm just a fairytale character thought up? If I fell and got ripped to shreds…I'd just cease to exist? It wouldn't affect the future? What happens to me is no less important because 'I'm not real'? What does that make _you_ if you're in here?"

Nexa stepped forward. "I am also a creation of this world. It is true that we are nothing more than data streaming in a world created by a sleeping Khajiit. When he wakes up we'll be nothing more than a subconscious memory stored in the deep recesses of his mind. That is not what's important. What is important is the mission that you are attending. Your mission is to find Vatu and help us release him from his prison so they can escape alive."

Erandur looked at Nexa and then down at the ground where a couple of zombies had gathered around the floor. "My mission? My mission is to find this Khajiit?" He looked down at the zombies again and I could feel his mind shifting to escaping the world of nightmares once and for all. "What happens when I do find him? He wakes up and this," He gestured down to the zombies growling at him. "This all goes away? I go away?"

Nexa nodded. Erandur chuckled and rubbed his hair back. He looked at me and said, "What am I like…in the real world?"

"You are the best leader and fighter that the battlemages have ever trained and I am…well…in love with you." I said, looking down. I didn't want to see the look in his face.

He reached up to my chin and pulled my gaze up. "Can't tell me in person so you'd thought you'd do it here where you couldn't mess it up?" I nodded. He smiled and pulled me in for a kiss. It lasted for only a second but in that one second; I felt the whole world come to a stop. "If the real me is anything like me…I'm sure you've already caught him." He said compassionately and turned to face Hans. "I'm ready. If we do this right, this world will be gone and I won't live another day in this zombie infested rat-hole."

He started leading the way again and everyone was following behind him. I was still stuck in my spot, rubbing my lips in shock. I couldn't believe how real that kiss felt. This was no dream world, this was a real world created in the mind of my friend. Primrose walked past me, shouldering me gently with a giant blush growing across her face. "You like Erandur? Wow." She chuckled gently before saying, "Don't worry, I won't tell."

I started following behind Primrose, who continued to glance back at me like she just couldn't believe that I confessed my love to Erandur. Did she find it amusing to know who I liked or did she like him too and found someone who agreed with her? Was she just plotting on how she was going to get us together or was she just going to blab to him once she got out? I honestly couldn't tell but I couldn't dwell on it.

After a couple minutes of wandering around on the ceilings, we came up to a dead end. Erandur looked back at us and said, "From here, we're going to have to go onto the actual bridge leading up to the prison. So, get your weapons ready."

He casually brought a ladder from the top of the roof and slid it down to the other side of the bridge. A roof latch opened up and an Imperial male's head poked through. "Erandur? Are you crazy? What are you doing, boy?"

Erandur smiled and waved to him. "Dying with a purpose instead of living without a life." He jumped over the edge of the building and slid down the ladder all the way down to the bridge. Hans followed after him and then I followed. I must admit; this wasn't quite as bad as I had hoped but we still had to find Vatu and escape.

We rushed up to the prison with no interruptions and Erandur escorted us right down into the prison cells. When we got close to the cells we heard, "Join us, brother. Join us and this will all end."

"Join you? You blood-sucking freaks will never get me. You may look like Nisha, but there is no way my sister would willingly become a vampire. Never become a vampire, never.." That was Vatu's voice. He sounded nearly broken, like he was talking in a whisper to himself.

"It is me, brother. I am Nisha. If you join us, you'll be on the winning side. You get to kill whoever you want, do whatever you want. It is freedom and you don't have to die." Nisha seemed to be speaking as softly as she could.

"Never get me, never get me. You're not my sister, just leave." Vatu said robotically.

I couldn't stand it anymore so I started walking up to them. Nisha raised her nose up into the air and sniffed. "Oh, fresh blood. I can't wait."

I reached for my dagger to challenge her, but as I fumbled around my belt, I remembered that I have no weapons. Nexa stepped in front of me with Erandur beside her. She said, "You have caused an unbalance in our world of happiness. Prepare to die."

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><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>Ah, good ol' Nexa. Going to kill a Khajiit bloodsucker._


	38. Ch 38: From nightmares to dreams

**Cearbhail:**_ Ha, I had fun tonight. Vatu gets to see his sister die and then Hans gets to meet someone he's always wanted to kill. Dun Dun duuuunnn. Ha, enjoy._

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

This wasn't my sister, this wasn't my sister. I watched as my sister died a few years ago. We were playing in a ruin when we were attacked my vampires. I escaped and I thought she was right behind me, but…I was the only one to escape the ruin. It was daylight so I had plenty of chance to run away and I…didn't turn around. I thought that if she didn't follow me, she was already dead and it wouldn't do either of us any good if I went in and died as well.

She found me in prison just last year. Her first question is what I did to be put in prison. I was accused of stealing. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and the guards type-casted me as a Khajiit thief and then they threw me in this prison. Of course, that kept me from being around everyone else when the King of Worms overtook the world and made everyone his thrall. The iron bars kept everyone out and the King of Worms wasn't interested enough in me to come down to kill him himself.

So for the past year, she kept coming in, talking to me. She wanted me to let her in but…I couldn't except that she was really alive. At first, I didn't let her in because I couldn't pick the lock. I offered that she let me out and that's when she told me that she couldn't touch iron or silver. When I questioned, she showed me her fangs and told me that she was a vampire. That was when my heart snapped. My sister was truly dead. Once she knew that it uncomforted me, she taunted me with it; telling me about how I just left her behind to die while I ran and hid like a rat.

That's what it was like for a year straight. She wouldn't let me die by starvation. She delivered food to me and kicked it gently through the bars so that I could eat. Every day, she would stand there and ask me to join her as a vampire. The world belonged to the dead now and together we could have been stronger than anyone else still living. That didn't help me open the cage so that she could walk through and bite me herself. I did want to be with her, but I didn't want to die to do it. There was no convincing her to let me live, she had to kill me to make it safe for me to leave.

After a few months passed by and she talked about all the people she killed while draining their blood from them. I found it harder and harder to connect my sister with this…thing, this monster, this mindless killer. So she eventually wore me down and now I was sitting in the corner of the room, staring up at the ugly image of my dead sister with longer fangs, blood covering her fur, and bloodshot eyes. I was just about to give up when I heard someone walking down the stairs. The vampire imposter looked away from me and smiled. "Oh, fresh blood. I can't wait."

I snapped out of my hypnosis long enough to see the assortment of races gathering around the floor. An Argonian and an Altmer stepped in front of everyone else. The Argonian grabbed onto her dagger and said, "You have caused an unbalance in our world of happiness. Prepare to die." I felt a new fire start to burn inside me again, one I felt disappear long ago.

My sister hissed out at the Argonian and flashed up to her. The Argonian flashed up as well and the two of them collided mid-flash. The two of them started wrestling with each other, the Argonian trying to force the vampire on the ground, and the vampire was trying to get the Argonian close enough to bite her. I found myself standing there, hands on the bars, watching them fight. I looked away from them to see a Dunmer with dark blue hair running up to my cage. She placed her finger on the lock and a light red energy rolled off her finger and over my lock. Just like that my lock broke open.

"Vatu, come with us. We're here to get you out of here." She said while her two allies were fighting with my former sister.

I looked back at my dead sister and she caught my eyes for half a second before the Argonian's dagger found its way to her throat. My dead sister's eyes changed from evil and red to yellow and civil. She looked down at her throat and then looked back up at me. Her eyes conveyed so much to me in that second. She looked like she woke up from a nightmare; like she was looking at me for protection…a job I failed at three years ago. Her claw reached out for me to hold and I found myself running up to her to take her hand. She gripped me as tightly as she could and just pulled me close to her. I was a little afraid of her trying to bite me, but I took the chance.

I sat there for a minute, while Nisha just held me. She couldn't talk with the hole in her throat, but she continued to hold onto me. I finally felt her limbs slacken and she fell from my hold. I sat there for a couple minutes, just silently praying for her. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I could hear the Dunmer talking again. "Please, Vatu. We need to move."

I forced myself to stand up. I looked over at her and I realized…I knew who she was. I couldn't place where I saw her, but I knew that I knew her…the Argonian too. In fact, everyone but the Bosmer looked familiar to me. The Dunmer stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Davilia."

I took her hand in a small handshake but I quickly pulled my claw away. I hadn't seen living mer in almost a year now and before then the only people I saw were Imperial Legion guards who fed me every day, usually with a hostile demeanor.

She pulled me to follow her. "Now, come on. We need to get you out of this city." She continued to pull me but with me following her, it was less of a pull and more of a directing. She pulled me up the stairs, which was hard for me. It had been so long since I had such physical activity that climbing stairs made my legs and knees hurt. She looked back at me surprised but she didn't say anything.

The tall burly Nord chuckled and said, "Been a while, huh?"

I looked back and nodded at him. I directed myself back at the Dunmer to see her twisting a doorknob leading out of the prison cells. As soon as she opened the door, a bright light flashed out at us and I felt cold air brushing in at us. When the light cleared, I pulled my claw away and looked around. We weren't in the cell anymore; we were in an Ayleid ruin. I could see a mental image of myself and Nisha reaching down to collect Welkynd stones. This…this was a memory. I remembered this. This was the day I started my journey to become a battlemage.

-Davilia-

I didn't believe what just happened, but after today, it was nice to be away from the zombies and trolls and dark things trying to kill us. I looked back at Hans, who was looking at the images of Vatu and Nisha playing around with the Welkynd stones. I looked back at the scene to see them collecting the stones from the ground. I heard a light humming and I looked up. A giant dark Welkynd Stone was glowing red right above them. It was the weirdest looking dark Welkynd stone I'd ever seen. It had three pure Ayleid rings surrounding it and it was easily three times the size than normal Ayleid stones.

The stone fired off a giant wave of pure energy in the form of lightning. It crashed down on both Vatu and Nisha, and for a second I was sure that we were in another horror dream. The lightning swarmed over them and it was all absorbed into the Welkynd stones. The stones lit up like the sun and they exploded into a bright blue dust. The real Vatu standing next to me nodded like he was reliving a memory.

He looked at me. "I remember this day. This was the day that Nisha and I started growing our magical abilities. It started out as a fever that grew into faster reflexes, stronger awareness, electricity crackling on my claws, and improved ancestral memory recovery."

Hans walked up to Vatu. "Are you telling me that your magical abilities stemmed from this stone?" He looked up at it. "I knew that it was unnatural that a dead bloodline somehow awakened in you after centuries of your kind died off in war. This device up there seems to enhance magical abilities. If we found this stone…imagine just how many super magicians we could create for this war."

I looked up at the stone. I had no idea how I should have felt about that statement. Hans looked entranced by the stone. I looked down at Vatu, who looked confused by the conversation.

"You think that's all the stone does? You think it super charges your natural magical and physical abilities? It does so much more."

All of us turned around. Standing right at the entrance of the chamber was an old looking Altmer. He carried a giant staff with an ugly looking skull intertwined through the staff's roots. He was wearing necromancer robes. Standing behind him in skanky clothing was…me. I looked like a dark witch who pretty much was there as a…sex slave.

She stepped up. "Hey! Look, it's me and she's dressed up like a battlemage. Let's kill and animate her. Please, Mannimarco."

Hans stiffed. "Mannimarco? The King of Worms?"

Mannimarco smiled gruffly and said, "Yeah? What of it?"

Hans brushed off his shoulders and drew his claymore. "You killed my fellow battlemages and destroyed an entire guild of mages. You also destroyed this world just to obtain power. I am Hans the Hardy, Battlemage Commander. Tell me what you know of this stone and then prepare to die."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Next Chapter, epic battle of the greatest two mages ever to exist. Oh, and Davilia gets to fight... her darker self, the dark magic witch versus the light magic battlemage. should be fun. =^.^= Cat fight.._


	39. Ch 39: Battle of Kings!

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, so this chapter is just about Hans. Yeah...he finally gets a POV. Can you believe it? Well anyway, the next one will be Davilia's battle agianst Davilia. Or should I say that Davilia is fighting Davilia. Man, it's so hard to think about who has priority of having their name come first. Anyway, i'm sure to make it very confusing.. I might just put the POV in Primrose's aspect so that you just read {Davilia reached out and grabbed the other Davili'a head and pulled her hair, which made Davilia cry out and kick Davilia.} Anyway, we'll see._

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><p>-Hans-<p>

I used to hear about the King of Worms like he was the boogeyman of the Mages Guild. When I was a young adult beginning my training as a battlemage, we used to talk about him. People would shush us and say, "Do not mention He-who-knows-we-don't-like. He might just come and invade our guild if we talk about him." Of course, the rest of us would laugh at him and make him go sulk in the corner. That of course was the older more experienced battlemage by the name of Fithragear. That worrisome Bosmer died in some ruin a few years ago when he rushed and forgot his training. Joke was on us, he was right the whole time.

This wasn't the same thing, though. In my reality, Mannimarco was dead, but here he was, all flesh and bone, looking at me with his pointy ears and oiled back gray hair. I always wanted to know just how good I was. Our current Arch-Mage killed Mannimarco and she was probably the strongest mage I've ever met, but I was always resentful that she got to him first when it was the battlemages' job to find and kill such creatures.

I raised my claymore to his neck, which was easily five feet long. "Tell me what you know about this stone. What does it do?"

Mannimarco smiled at me smartly. "How about this: you continue living through this fight and for each wave of my attacks you survive through, I'll tell you more." Suddenly, he morphed around the tip of my sword. He was flashing so fast that even I could barely track him. He just sort of fluidly ran along the edge of my sword and up to my stomach.

I had better training than he could imagine. With a loud roar, I summoned a massive wind that pushed him away. He threw up his hands and a dark energy started to cover the front of him while he slowly glided against the floor back.

He broke his hands away, splitting my wind in half. He smiled. "You are quite powerful, wizard." He jumped up into the air, growling/screaming. He came down in front of me, slashing out with long fingernails that seemed to grow out of his now claws. I raised my claymore to defend against him, but his nails cut right through my claymore like it was paper. My armor started chipping away and it slid off my torso in sectioned layers.

I gazed down at my chest. My shirt started to rip like he cut through it too. I looked back up. I knew I could feel it. I didn't have to look down. Just what type of battlemage was I anyway? Had I been slacking off because my missions for the past few years had been about bandits and training new guys? Maybe I was just old. Yeah, I was old. I should have retired my title to someone a little younger and more agile. Back in the old days, battlemages would just stand there and blast magic off our weapons and hands. These days, our battlemages were more about agility and stealth, instead of heavy armor wearing standstills. When I saw our new recruits fighting the Daedra, I noticed that Davilia took off her armor just so that she could move. Erandur evaded the Daedra and played with them since they couldn't touch him.

My test when I was that age? I had to fight an instructor. He stood there and fired magic spell after magic spell at me. I stood there too, using my Aegis shield spell, while fueling minor magic into a collection of Frost and Lightning in my hands. I waited until I had enough and then I dropped my shield long enough to fire both of them. My instructor didn't move because that was how warfare was fought back then; face to face. I won but it cost me all my magic at that time and I was the top of the class too. Looking up at the agile old bat with long fingernails ripping through my skin…I felt very weak.

"That stone is an ancient artifact created by the Ayleids to capture Aedra warriors. The Great Welkynd Stones of legend were made from armies of Aedra soldiers. You have been brought here as no coincidence. I need that stone to become a Great Welkynd Stone so that I can use its everlasting power to make the perfect immortal body. No longer the lich that I am, but an Altmer…immortally young and beautiful for all days." Mannimarco said.

He started to pull his hand out of my chest, but for some reason, my hands flew up and trapped his arm. This pain? This was nothing. I may have been old, but my methods were my own. I may not be young and agile, but I was strong and burly. I was highly endurable and something like a cat scratch that just barely broke the surface of my chest was nothing to worry about.

He glared at me with a small flicker of either fear or caution. "Oh? What are you planning to do?"

I pulled him in, and as his body came in, I brought up head down onto his. I used a little of my magic of healing on my own head as I came hammering down on him. My head healed on strike but I don't think liches know very much about healing. Mannimarco fell straight to the ground, his own head looked like it had a dent forming in the front.

He felt his forehead and his fingers found the dent. "You dented me? You insufferable Nord. I will enjoy twisting your organs. I will raise you, kill you, raise you again, and then keep the process up until you look like an Orc." He jumped from the ground and landed a good ten feet away from me. He brought up his hands and the ground started to split. Skeleton hands brought through the ground, all accompanied by heads.

I wasn't one for letting an enemy gather resources, or give monologues, so I just stuck my hand out. With a flick of my finger, all the skeletons rising from the dirt shattered into dust. I flashed up to Mannimarco and locked his arms at his sides. I glared down at him. "Tell me more. I've survived so far."

Mannimarco smirked. "The Ayleids dealt with Aedra and so have I. I watched a long time ago as they sealed them originally after using hundreds of them to create their Great Welkynd Stones. There were so many of them that they had to find an alternative solution than just turning them into stones."

I gestured for Mannimarco to continue, but he only shrugged. I decided to bring my head down again. After I felt I accomplished with giving him a good headache, I said, "Continue."

Mannimarco hissed at me but when he looked around, nothing was happening. "Why isn't my magic working?"

I smiled. "Soul Separation. When I wrapped my arms around you and pulled you down, I sealed our area in a non-magic circle. Massive Silence. It's just you and me. Now, how did the Ayleids kill the Aedra?"

Mannimarco look defeated for a second. "They used the Dark Welkynd Stones to turn their earlier slaves into blood-thirsty warriors. The Ha-jirat. We know them as Khajiits. They were trained warrior slaves that slew the Aedra. When that plan started to fail, they started using their own fighters. The fighters proved to be of equal strength in one-on-one engagements and others of equal numbers, but there were too many Aedra. So…they used a combination of blood conjuration and the Dark Welkynd stones. It opened a massive portal to the other realm inside the stone. It has unlimited sealing in it. But to get it to work; you need seven black soul gems to power the device that they created."

"Device? Black soul gems?" I couldn't believe that.

"Yes, I created it. It was a marvelous creation of dark magic easily more powerful than anything the Nine Divines could create. It pulled the Aedra into the Black soul gems, which cycled into the Great Dark Welkynd Stone, the only one ever created. Located in the deserts of Elsweyr. They wanted to insure that the rival clans could never find it so they hid the entrance under the sand. Once it's activated all the Aedra on our planet will just come flying to it. A giant ceiling will open up and then they'll just fly into the cylinder like Khajiits to skooma." He said with a large smile on his face.

I nodded to him. "Thanks, Mannimarco. You've given me two things: information worthy of saving my world, and…your death." I took the dagger sitting in my belt, unsheathed it, and slid it up Mannimarco's throat. He looked at me angrily for a second but with the Necromancer's Amulet resting comfortably in my other hand…he was now mortal. His lifeless body fell from my hands and I looked down at it. I had actually killed the King of Worms. Sure, the battle was very short and most of it was talking but, come on, I killed the King of Worms. Only one other person in the whole world had done that, well two if you considered Mannimarco killing himself in the first place to become a lich.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Next Chapter, Davilia gets to fight... her darker self, the dark magic witch versus the light magic battlemage. should be fun. =^.^= Cat fight.. (yes, i did use this from the last chapter since this one dragged out.) Oh by the way, did you like how Hans used his super strong body to cancel out all magic for an endurance fight? I thought it was nice and probably the only way he'd win in such a fight against such a powerful foe._


	40. Ch 40: Dav Vs Dav

**Cearbhail:**_ Yes! Finally, I got to finish this chapter. Man, I had some fun with this. I'm sure you'll see why. Anyway, have fun and tell me what you think._

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><p>-Primrose-<p>

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. If it wasn't for the fact that they were wearing different clothes, or that they had different hair styles…I wouldn't have understood which one was which. I stood there; watching two Davilias pull each other's hair, screaming insults at each other…everything but actually fight. I wanted to jump in and help her fight the other her, but the real her told me to back off right as soon as I drew my weapon. She wanted to do this herself.

-Davilia- (the real one)

It was weird…no matter how much I wanted to…I just couldn't strike myself in the face. She must have felt the same because she hadn't raised her necromancer hands to me. So, we settled this the old fashioned way…

"Look at your hair…it's so short." She pulled my hair. "You look like some little soldier."

"Oh yeah?" I said as I grabbed her ponytail that reached down to her feet. "What about this? Ever hear of a haircut? They're very popular." I yanked her ponytail and she screamed out in minor pain.

"You little witch!" She screamed at me.

"Takes one to know one!" I screamed back. We both froze for a second and I backtracked my comment. Did I just insult myself? Did she just insult herself?

"How would you feel about facing my Ancestor Ghost?" She said and suddenly, a giant ghost of our ancestor ripped through the divine portal in front of her. It paused in front of me and it looked back at her. We just stood there for a second.

"She is you; I cannot attack her." The ghost said and like that, it disappeared.

Witch-me just shook her head and grabbed her eyes in frustration. "Well…I can't just attack me. Can I?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Here, let's test something." I walked up and slapped her. As I did so, I felt a giant hand slap me back. We both fell back a bit. "Nope. That hurt me too." I looked over at Primrose and said, "Hey, Rose! Come over here and slap me. I want to see something."

Primrose, confused as ever, walked up to me and slapped me across the face. Primrose must have really wanted to do it, because my eyes blanked out for a second. The witch-me recoiled as well, rubbing her face where a giant red mark was forming.

"Ow!" Witch-me said as she rubbed her cheek. "Jeez!"

That settled it. I could not harm myself without hurting her and I could not harm her without harming myself. This logic was so twisted that it made this job the hardest thing I've ever faced.

"Sorry." Primrose said as her face blushed a bit.

I nodded and faced my clone. She walked up to me as well. "So, how are we going to settle this?" I asked.

She shrugged. She kicked my shin and both of us fell onto our sides, hugging our legs. "That was stupid." She groaned out.

"You _are_ stupid." I said. Once again, I had to stop my thinking and I looked up at her. She looked back at me.

"If you're going to insult me; make sure you're not insulting something that contains to you as well." She said as earnestly as she could.

I looked down at her dress. "You look like a courtesan. Go change your clothes." There, that was about all I had on her. I had to admit; I liked her ponytail. If I wanted to try it out, I'd have to grow my hair out for a couple years…or I could cheat and use Alteration to force it to grow faster.

She looked at my armor and said, "You're covering up your goods. Good luck attracting any mer with that piece of iron covering your body."

I slapped her for that, which caused my face to sting as well.

After we recovered, we sat up and just stared at each other. We stared at each other. She just started at me unblinking and for some reason…I didn't blink too. We just stared at each other for almost two minutes before I blinked and she laughed.

"Ha! I won the blinking contest." She stuck her tongue out.

I stuck out my thumb and said, "Thumb war?"

Yeah…this was our epic battle. We went on for minutes. Thumb war, arm wrestling (which I won easily), breath holding contest, blinking contest, screaming contest. It was the only way we could fight without hurting ourselves. We played Fire, Frost, Electric. Basically we stuck our hands out in shapes that represented the elements. Electric beat fire, fire beat frost, and frost beat electric. We played that the longest and we kept getting tied up every round.

Finally, after almost an hour of fighting, Hans walked up to us and said, "I have a solution."

I turned to face him but he didn't stop walking. He walked past me and then I felt something pinch my neck. My eyes blurred and I could see my clone wobble on her feet. She fell before I did. So, I beat her in the final battle, whoever could last the longest before passing out.

-Primrose-

I watched as Hans pinched the back of Davilia's neck. Both of them passed out. Hans caught our Davilia while her clone fell to the floor. Her head hit pretty hard but I don't think our Davilia noticed. He looked at me and said, "I think our fight is done."

Nexa, who stood next to me the whole time, nodded. "Yes, this fight is over. We just need to get Vatu to grab the stone. After that, he'll wake up. I'll give you all time to exit the body and at that time, I'll get him to grab the stone. He should wake up at that time." She reached her hand out and out of nowhere, a doorknob materialized in her hands. "Thank you for helping me. Good luck in your war." She opened the door and a giant light covered us.

Next thing I noticed was that I was back in my own body. I opened my eyes and I felt my body as its weight pulled down on me. Davilia lied next to me, still unconscious, but Hans was sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

It was fast. Vatu was lying there one second, the next, he was up on his legs, growling lightly for one second and then, quiet and scanning. He saw us and all his claws retracted. "Thank you, friends." He said in his scratchy annoying voice that sent chills down my back.

Hans looked at both of us. "Ok, let's get Davilia awake and then we'll leave for Dive Rock."

As if on cue, Davilia opened her eyes and looked over at us.

Hans nodded to her. "Feeling alright, Davilia?"

She looked at him blankly. "Who's Davilia?"

Crap…another subplot..

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Who saw that coming? Who's going to guess what this means? Does she still like Erandur? Will she remember it later? Is she even still a part of the battlemages? Oh soap operas...how you torment us.. Anyway, I don't know because I did this at last moment...my fingers type what they want and just like that...it takes a life of its own. I'm sure I will have fun with this. Hope you do too._


	41. Ch 41: Who's Dav?

**Cearbhail:**_ Yeah, I know... It's been a while since I last posted. I couldn't figure out how this chapter was going to pan out but I guess I did it so there...It's done. Expect faster and probably longer chapters soon. I might just blow through the rest of the story as fast as I can so I can get started on the Rogue Shadowscale, staring Nexa._

_So anyway, chapter's about Davilia and her headcase. Also, Primrose finds out that she doesn't really fit into the whole main character cliche that they have somehow formed. I'm still not sold on keeping her around as one of the 'guys'. I'm sure some of you will tell me if you like her enough for me to keep her around, but that's only if you tell me._

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><p>-Primrose-<p>

We all gathered around the medical ward once again. Vatu wasn't to be released just yet but now we had a new problem. Davilia, my new best friend…was now asking who everyone was. She had no memory of anything other than how to talk. Well, Hans threw me in here with Erandur and Iver, while he charged out of the fort. Before he left, he looked at Erandur and said, "I will send for a healer squad to come through and retrieve her. Wait here until they arrive. When they do show up, head for Dive Rock with the rest of your company."

"Yes, sir." He said right back. He looked a little hesitant. "But, shouldn't we wait for Davilia to recover? I mean, it can't be permanent…and it just feels wrong to finish without her."

Hans nodded back. I understood how Erandur felt…that and knowing how Davilia felt for him made me feel worse about it. Hans said, "Trust me, Erandur. I get it, but we don't have time to wait. I'm leaving to send a report of what I found out while in Vatu's dreams. This could mean a fast and decisive victory for us. Listen, Erandur. If I don't make it make it back with reinforcements heading to Elsweyr, tell the Arch-Mage; the key to defeating the Aedra is an Ayleid temple hidden in the deserts of Elsweyr. It has a giant Dark Welkynd stone inside that is surrounded by seven black soul gems. Activating the machine will absorb all the Aedra in the world into the stone. It is the only way to win. Got it, Erandur?"

I looked back at Erandur. He looked lost for a second but his eyes finally hardened. He nodded at Hans. Hans smiled gruffly, patted Erandur on his shoulder, and turned around to leave. Erandur looked at me. "No one's told me how Dav got into this state. What happened?"

"I'm not sure," I could feel his intense eyes burning into me. "She had this clone that she had a telepathic link with. If she got hurt, the other hurt too. Well, Hans knocked Davilia out and when she fell, he caught her, but the other Davilia hit her head pretty hard on the ground. I think Dav's injury is created from that."

Erandur nodded. "Right. Astral warfare. If that's the case; she'll recover pretty quickly." He said that rather quickly. He let out a small exhale before leaning against the wall behind him. He reached up and pulled off his custom armor that he wore so proudly. He laid it on the ground and finally slid down the wall until he was relaxing. He looked over at Vatu, who sat on the opposite wall. "Vatu. How are your injures?"

Vatu looked merely shocked at his question. "Injuries? I have none." He said that with a wide smile growing across his fangs. He opened his eyes slowly and this time he looked more serious. "I want to see my sister as soon as we can."

Erandur nodded back. "Yeah, once we're done with our training; I'll come up with you to visit your sister. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."

"Not soon enough. I want to see her face…normal. I dreamt of her as a vampire and I want that image out of my head. I want to see her, now." Vatu's voice was growing slightly annoyed and forceful. I found myself reaching for my dagger and stepping back into a fighting stance. I saw what this cat dreamed of. I knew how sick of a mind he was. Both he and Erandur saw me react and they both glanced over at me for a second.

Vatu's fangs and eyes almost bared into me. "Are you scared of me, Bosmer?" He asked me.

I stood my ground. "Scared? I saved your life and this is all you have to say? How about, 'sorry, Primrose. You're right. Thank you for saving me.'?"

Erandur smirked amusingly at my sarcasm, but Vatu didn't look too happy. "**_Sorry, Primrose_**. I don't care at this second. My friend has amnesia and **_you're right_** that it's my fault. **_Thank you_**for being so considerate and_ **for saving me**_the trouble of having to avoid this conversation altogether."

I was just about to charge up to him, but Davilia finally started moving again. She rose up from her sleep and looked around. Erandur was the first one up to her. "Dav? Are you ok?"

Davilia rubbed her head. "No, my head hurts. Stang! What happened?"

Erandur let out a large exhale. "You lost your consciousness in Vatu's mind. Are you ok now? Do you remember your name; Davilia?"

Davilia nodded. "Yeah, I know my name, Altmer. Stop talking to me like we're friends." She said harshly. She shook her head and said, "Oh, I'm sorry…I mean…it's just that my head hurts and I don't want to deal with this right now." She lied back down on the concrete slab. "I'm not usually this mean; I'm just in pain right now." She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Erandur nodded his head. "Ok, that's a start. She remembers herself now, but now she doesn't know who we are. That's one step closer to being back to normal again."

I continued to stand there in silence. I felt out of place around these people. It seemed like they were a small group of close friends or something. I don't know how they became so close but I knew that I was not a part of their small family.

I decided to step out of the room, where I felt a little disconnected from them. Was I really needed here anymore? I did my job. I healed Vatu and journeyed with Davilia through Vatu's mind to release him from his coma. What more could I do here? Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. I could fix Davilia's mind! I could do this; I had training.

I rushed back into the room, almost in a focused trance. Vatu and Erandur both got up as I reached over Davilia's bed but neither of them moved from their spots. I closed my eyes and focused on her dream bubble. I could see it. A small twist of energy had collected around the left side of her brain, back to the end. I could actually see the part of the mind that was damaged. I could see the puzzle that had several pieces misplaced and scattered around. I reached in with my spirit hands and started restringing the pieces of the puzzle that made up her mind.

When I finally finished, I felt my third eye give me a slight push away from her. I lost my footing and slipped backwards. Vatu caught me and eased me back onto my feet. I was tired and my legs felt too heavy to support me, so I gently lowered myself to sit down. Vatu nodded at me. "What did you do?"

His voice was still harsh and very angry towards me. I didn't let him know that I felt threatened by him though. I said, "I healed her mind."

Davilia started stirring from her slab and the first thing she did was rub her head and then her eyes. She rose up and looked around. "Erandur?" She looked over at Vatu and I. "Vatu? Rose? What happened?"

Erandur said, "What do you remember?"

"I went into Vatu's mind and helped Hans fight all sorts of horrible things." She looked over at Vatu. "Vatu…you're sick. You're so sick in your mind." Dav shook her head and looked over at Erandur. "After that, I fought a witch version of myself and then I…passed out. That's it. Well, I did kiss…" She stopped short. Her face started turning a darker purple than it already did. I knew what she was thinking about. She was thinking about her kiss with Erandur. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. I can see that everything worked out alright. Where's Hans?"

Erandur shrugged. "He had something to go do. He said that once you were awake, we were leaving for Dive Rock, so pack up. We're leaving at dawn."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_I guess Primrose has some good qualities to her. She's a gifted healer but other than that...she's just there. Like I said, tell me if you like her and if you do, I'll keep her around. Otherwise I might just haver her stay in the background like Thomas or Iver. Or, i might kill her off. don't know yet._


	42. Ch 42: Argonian Prisoners

**Cearbhail:**_ Sorry, I know I said, they will be faster but...I got sick. I'm starting to get over it now so it should start up again. Anyway, this is a quick look at the Rouge Shadowscale. This is still part of the Khajiit Battlemage story but these events will be very important to the storyline. You'll see why._

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><p>-Nisha-<p>

The sounds of dripping water and the smell of rotting flesh continued to wake me up after the many hours I've hanged from my wrists in a prison cell. Every time I started to fall asleep, my body decides that I need to be awake instead. Of course, I know why; I'm in the enemy fortress. It was so dark that no one could see around…except me. Looking around, I could see that Jurard was hanging unconscious. Uncle J'skar looked as depleted as she did, except his tail kept twitching. I knew he was awake, but he wanted to give the impression that he wasn't.

Have I confused anyone? Maybe I should fill you in on what happened.

We are in Argonia…. We are Khajiits. We showed up in the middle of Argonia's capital…a place I don't know the name of since they didn't speak of it. This was the whole conversation.

So…we came out of the dark black mist almost as fast as we warped into it. We fell out of a large lake of dark mist that hovered around a darkened room. I had just enough time to look around to see cloaked Argonians staring down at us. Argonians with spears and dark leathery armor stood behind them at attention. Directly behind us were two other Argonians. One was an old looking female with a woven ring on her head. She wore a decorated purple and gold robe that seemed to make her look royal. Standing beside her was a well armored barely younger male with blood-red colored scales. He was the first one to act.

With a snap of his fingers…all the supposed guards had their spears up at our throats. Nexa was dragged away from us as fast as we were rounded up. I looked around at the Argonians now surrounding us. What was going to happen to us now?

"Shadowscale Nexa. Why do you bring our enemies into our holy place?" The blood-red Argonian said with strong conviction.

"Forgive me Warlord Zeelius. There is much that I need to tell you." Nexa began, taking a knee.

With a snap of his fingers, he said, "Then tell us in private. Take these prisoners to the dungeons." He looked at his guards and suddenly, I felt two hands clasp around both my arms.

"No!" Nexa cried out. "They are not prisoners; they are allies."

The warlord hissed at Nexa and her words. "Allies? A Breton Battlemage from the fallen Empire and two Khajiits with a collection of small mages? See this from my viewpoint, Shadowscale Nexa; you took an oath to protect our Queen Ali-jinasha and the kingdom of Argonia…yet you bring a warrior of the Imperial Army to our capital…in our royal quarters, with two Khajiit mages, our most hated enemies…and you want me to believe that there is no treason present?"

Nexa started to speak out, but when the warlord waved his hand dismissively, two guards had grabbed her by the arms as well. "Shadowscale Nexa…you have broken our most sacred oaths. You have endangered Argonia. You are confined to the Shadowscale prison hold until your hearing with Queen Ali-jinasha, myself, and the Council of Shadowscales and Shadowwraiths. Your associates will be kept in the dungeon until you can convince me otherwise of your intentions once you debrief me on the day of your hearing."

Nexa only nodded slightly. She said, "Yes, father. I will obey."

That was when we were gathered up, knocked up a bit, and shacked to these chains. They were weird. They absorbed all our magicka while we were shackled to them. Jurard and Uncle J'skar were so used to having magic that when it was taken away from them…they broke easily. The other students were taken somewhere else but the three of us had the worst treatment. After all, J'skar and I were Argonia's worst nightmare…Khajiits with magic. Jurard just represented the oppression of the Imperial Army. I could understand their fears with the Empire on the verge of collapse.

That didn't help the fact that I was still hanging by my wrists with just enough length to touch my toes on the wet stone underneath me. I was sure that these chains were designed for…taller creatures. I was only a child and as such….these chains were nearly not long enough for me to sit here comfortably. At least J'skar and Jurard could sleep. I was too uncomfortable.

I wasn't sure how many days had passed by. Honestly, in a windowless room with nothing, not even food…it gets hard to develop a reliable timetable. I'm used to schedule but the only schedule I seem to notice was when Jurard woke up for a few seconds. She would struggle against her chains for a couple minutes, and then two guards would come in and beat her back to unconsciousness. J'skar was smart enough to play dead the whole time. They prodded him and he gave them a slight groan to let them know he was still breathing, but he never moved. At first, I thought that he had given up. After watching the guards leave and then see him raise his head and hiss out a violent warning to himself…I was inspired to not give up my will as well. We just had to be smart and wait this out.

So, here I was…hanging around, waiting for something. I was getting so tired of this quiet that I actually started hissing over at J'skar. His ears perked up and he growled back at me. We were talking in an old Khajiiti dialect that was only used in the most desperate times. It was a series of growls and hisses that was just loud enough for our ears to pick up the patterns. In a quiet place like this where sound traveled well…we barely made noises louder than the water dripping beside us.

"J'skar…what is our plan?" I hissed out in our secret language.

"Our plan? Survive. No one knows we're here. We have to wait this out. Maybe our shadowscale will find a way to get us released. Knowing these Argonians…you and I will be executed on the spot." He growled out in a reply.

I swallowed hard but it was all I had time to do. I heard some yelling outside out dungeon door. "Hey! What are y…" I heard something hit the door, followed shortly by a sword strike another sword. Someone groaned out in pain and then there was silence. Jurard started waking up around this time, her eyes barely glancing around. She couldn't see in the dark like J'skar and me. She was as blind as a Nord was drunk.

Our door opened up and in came Nexa, weapons in her hands. She quickly unlatched Jurard and handed her a sword. "Battlemage, it's me…Nexa. Take this and prepare." Nexa slipped a ring over her finger and suddenly, Jurard became instantly wide-awake and alert. She nodded and walked over to J'skar. She started unlatching him.

"You came for us. Why?" J'skar asked while Jurard started freezing the chains off.

Nexa broke my latch and caught me as I fell forward. "I talked to the Council of Shadowscales and Shadowwratihs. They have issued your immediate deaths. They found out about the rumor of the 'red-eyed Khajiit mage'. They think it's one of you and they don't want to take any chances. The other students were already put in collection camps around Argonia. They are being used as slaves. I cannot just let you guys die…I've come to…Sithis help me…like you."

She glanced at me. "Your brother would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you." She said it so simply that I couldn't believe that I earlier thought that she was an evil Argonian.

"What is our escape plan, Nexa?" Jurard asked with an urgency that only a trained battlemage could create after several days of not eating and constant beating.

Nexa looked back at her. "The entire city of Lilmoth is protected by a spell circle. The only way out is through the royal quarters, where we came in. The room should be empty since everyone is gathering at the execution block on the other side of the palace. The guards I killed were the ones here to collect you. We should have a clear path straight to the teleportation mist. Follow me."

So, we grabbed some daggers and we started to follow Nexa. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_I guess Nexa has chosen her side. Who would have guessed that the Warlord of the Argonian race was actually her father. Can you guess who her mother is...or who her Grandmother is? Yeah...I'm sure you can figure it out if you thought about it. Anyway. Hope you enjoyed it._


	43. Ch 43: Escape from Argonia

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, sorry. Midterms were taking a lot of my attention, but I'm back. So, here we find ourselves in an escape attempt. I just want to point this out right now._

_We are coming up on the end of this book. Soon, I swear and immediately, I will begin the Rouge Shadowscale. So, with this in mind; this will be like two weeks from now...let me know if you want to see something happen in the Rouge Shadowscale. I'm still in the planning stage so there is no concrete story for it yet so there is plenty of room for some ideas. If you wish to see something happen; just message me and I'll see about making it happen._

_Anyway, enjoy the rest of the story. The story ends when our battlemages finish their training._

* * *

><p>-Nisha-<p>

I stepped over the corpses of the Argonians that were coming to take us to our executions. I looked down at their lifeless eyes and something stirred within me. Sure, I had spent the last few days hanging by my wrists, but I still didn't like taking a life and I dind't like seeing dead bodies either.

J'skar looked back at me and gave me a slight push forward, when he noticed that I couldn't take my eyes off the dead Argonians. "Just keeping looking straight, Nisha. Stay behind me and you'll be fine."

I looked up at J'skar. He was always looking after me and ever since Adam died, he acted more like a father than usual. It felt nice to have him around.

So, we walked out of the cellar and almost instantly, I could see that we were not inside. The cellar was surrounded by a large swamp that surrounded the whole area.

"We must hurry. We have probably ten minutes before they notice that none of you are on your way to the gallows." Nexa called out to us before she stepped knee-deep into the swamp. "Keep your eyes open. The fleshflies love to eat non-Argonians and they do swarm."

I looked down at the brown non-moving sludge water that was only inches away from me. The water looked a little more than knee deep for Nexa, who was as tall as any Argonian. That meant that the water would come up to my waist. As I reached down to plant my first leg into the black murky water, I was grabbed by the back of my robe and lifted up. I looked up to see J'skar throwing me over his shoulder. He stepped into the deep muddy water and jogged to catch up with Jurard and Nexa.

"Hey, Uncle J'skar! I can walk." I seemed to say out a little brattier than I intended.

He chuckled lightly. "You are fine on my shoulder. Don't pretend you'd rather be neck high in this Argonian crap." He said back to me. I noticed that he was waist deep in the muck and my feet were already brushing against the wall of crap. He was right; I would have been up to my neck in this stuff.

We continued on for a couple minutes before we finally pulled ourselves out of the murky swamp and into the thick brush of the surrounding woods.

Nexa waited next to a tree waiting for us. She looked at Jurard and nodded. "Ok, the palace is straight ahead. By now, they're wondering what happened to the guards that were sent to get you, so keep your eyes open for shadowscales and shadowwraiths."

J'skar lowered me to the ground and fixed Nexa with a hard stare. "What exactly is a shadowwraith, anyway?"

I looked over at Nexa. I knew as much as any Khajiit did. We all knew the same things…well…ok not exactly the same things. All Khajiits could remember their family's lineage all the way to the first Khajiit tribe. Separate clans had separate past memories. Even so, Khajiit had known little about Argonians, especially where their capital city was and their ruler lived. We had no recall of what a shadowwraith was, even though the Khajiits fought shadowscales in our war. This was our one chance to get some information on our natural enemies.

Nexa looked over at us like she would rather keep it a secret, but she finally sighed. "A shadowwraith is…well…a spellcaster. Shadowscales are assassins, right? Well, a shadowwraith is a well versed sorcerer with dark magic strong enough to be considered as powerful as a lich. They are the Queen's personal bodyguards. With my father leading them, I'm sure he'll send the shadowscales to retrieve us, but he'll likely send one or two shadowwraiths because you're all spellcasters."

"You have betrayed us, Shadowscale Nexa."

We all looked up. Hanging upside down from the tree branches were several cloaked figures. The cloaks looked old and ripped but the Argonian faces looked blacked from war and training. One of them fell from the tree and landed right in front of her.

I wasn't sure what happened next. It was like the trees became alive. I heard a creaking noise and looked to my left to see a moving branch make contact with my face. I was lifted off my feet and the next thing I knew, I was breathing in the nasty black muddy water. Then, something I never noticed before happened…I didn't know how to swim.

Yeah…I can't believe that I never noticed. With my life flashing before my eyes, I never once touched the water. So, when I started moving my legs and my arms (though feeble because of the thickness of the water and the way my mage's robe stuck to this crap like glue), I found that I wasn't making any progress. It didn't matter; I had already inhaled enough of this crap to throw my body in a coughing fit.

My eyes burned intensely and my lungs cried out in agony as I breathed more of this…disgusting water into my body through my coughing fits. I felt a sudden jerk and suddenly, I felt my head break through the layer of nasty murk. I started coughing more actively now and my lungs started forcing the gunk out of my body. Before I could stop to open my eyes, my stomach upheaved and I swear that everything that had just entered my body was tossed in one massive wave.

After that was done, I collapsed onto my side and just started breathing. A hand started beating against my back several times. "Just cough it up, Ja'nish." I started coughing up more of the water. That was J'skar's voice alright. Once I caught my breath, I opened my eyes and looked around.

I could see the flashing blurs of black running across the treetops. One blur collided with another and they both disappeared into a thick layer of black magic. They both reappeared a second later, only one of them was no longer moving. I looked closer and I could see that he materialized right inside a branch hanging on a tree. He was dead. Another groaned and fell from the sky as well. There was a throwing knife sticking out of his neck.

I closed my eyes as I saw lightning arc up from J'skar's hands. Three more of them fell to the ground, convulsing. Three knives fell from the treetops, landing in their chests. They cried out in pain but their whines silenced themselves within minutes.

Nexa fell from the treetop, bleeding from her shoulder. She was grabbing it lightly and regarded us with a nod. "Right, we're almost there." She started walking away so we followed behind her. After a minute, she lost her balance and she fell against one of the trees. She slid down the tree and came to a stop. Jurard and J'skar came running up to her but she raised her hand to stop them. "No need, I am only poisoned. Just give me a second."

She reached up and punched her hand through the tree she was sitting against. She pulled her hand it; it was covered in green/yellow slime. She licked it from her hand and then turned her head to the hole she punched through the tree. She stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled her head back. She was still licking her lips when she pushed off the ground and started walking again.

She was moving faster than she was a minute ago, like she was good as new. "What that hist that you drank?" Jurard asked her as she walked up on her from behind.

Nexa nodded. "Yes, it was hist. Pure, non-tampered hist. Not the type the Fighter's Guild dealt with five years ago."

Jurard nodded. "Yes, that's why I asked. I read the reports on hist. It is a stimulant, right?"

"No, it's a gift. It is whatever we need it to be. I needed it to heal my body and destroy any foreign intoxicants. It took away all disease from me. It is hard to poison an Argonian, unless you know our nervous systems. Unfortunately, that means that only an Argonian can poison an Argonian. Our bodies are so used to be resistant to all diseases and poisons that a simple ingredient that doesn't agree with us can actually kill us. I would have died without that hist; not even magic would have taken the effects away."

Nexa looked back at us and said, "Now, you are all mages. You can breathe underwater, right?"

I looked around. I looked at J'skar and said, "I can't swim and I can't breathe underwater."

J'skar pulled a small leaf off a branch and waved his other hand around it. He placed it on my palm and said, "Hold that tight and focus on that leaf. You will be able to breathe as long as you hold onto that leaf. As for the swimming, just hold onto me, Ja'nish. We'll get you out of this."

Ja'nish. It was a nickname for a little cub. Ja meant little and when it came to creating a nickname, you usually shortened the name down to one syllable. It really meant that he was calling me Little Nisha.

Nexa pointed straight down and said, "Our capital is under this massive lake. Since we breathe underwater, our castle's entrance is underwater too."

So, clutching my leaf as tightly as I could, I climbed up on J'skar's back and we dove into the lake. I held my breath, fearing that the leaf couldn't work. It wasn't that I doubted J'skar's magical capabilities, or that I didn't trust that the leaf could hold magicka. I had just nearly drowned in nasty tasting water; I was not exactly looking forward to a repeat performance of that taste in my mouth.

I kept my eyes closed the whole time and halfway through the lake, I couldn't hold my breath any longer so I gave in and let in a deep breath. It was weird; I didn't taste any water enter my mouth at all. It felt like air coming in but then again; Alteration can do some magical things. I didn't open my eyes until I felt the water pull away from my fur.

Looking around, I could tell that we were back in the same room that we originally poofed into. Nexa walked up to the swirling black mist and said, "All you have to do is walk in and visualize wherever you want to go. I suggest a stronghold of some sort."

Jurard cocked and eyebrow and said, "Why are you telling us this?"

Nexa pulled out her dagger and said, "I cannot come with you. I am a shadowscale and therefore, I cannot betray Argonia. I must make it look like I tried to stop you and that you tried to kill me. Here, stab me and shoot some of your lightning at me." Nexa handed Jurard her dagger.

Jurard took the dagger lightly and said, "Thank you, Nexa."

"Just do it already." Nexa growled out impatiently.

So, Jurard shocked Nexa with her lightning, throwing her against the wall while she continued to work her magic through her. Once Nexa was out cold, Jurard tucked Nexa's dagger into her belt and said, "Now, let's get out of here. Next stop; Cloud Ruler Temple."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Nexa is quite an amazing Argonian, huh? Just imagine where her story begins. She'll be the main character, plus a new cast of characters, as well as the old ones. I don't think i'll give the same people POVs as this story but I'll keep them around._


	44. Ch 44: Davilia's father?

**Cearbhail:**_ Ha, another one so fast that I'm amazed with myself...ok not really. It took me forever, mostly because I'm running out of ideas. Which is why I'm trying to end this book as soon as possible before I get too tired with writing it. Anyway, we get to meet Davilia's father and next episode, he gets to tell us a little story._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

It was something to behold. I guess the whole world was pretty much wrathed overnight. Well, of course as soon as Davilia was checked out by the healers and deemed 'ready to serve'; we left right away for Dive Rock. We didn't know how long we would have to wait there until BI Hans showed up with his new battle plan. I knew what it was. Thinking back to the dream I had where he talked to Mannimarco, I remember him saying something about the device that seals away the Aedra. If that were true, I would definitely send a recon team to the location to investigate. I bet that was what Hans was doing.

Like I said, the world looked like it was wrathed overnight. As we marched from Fort Ontus over to Dive Rock, which was almost a three day journey, we saw so many things along the way. We stopped by Chorrol to stock up on supplies. We wanted some real food and we were going to stock up for the march up to Bruma, where we would collect more food for the rest of the journey up to Dive Rock.

Well, when we approached Chorrol, we could see the smoke rising from the city from the woods. I've heard the words; quiet before the storm, but never the quiet after it. I never really noticed just how quiet the woods were. There were no trolls, no wolves, not even birds chirping in the trees. It was like every living creature in the world was gone and we were the only things left. Of course, that didn't stop Erandur from making us form up outside the city.

"Ok, we're splitting up into battle teams. Teams Alchemy, Battle, Chorrol, Daedra, and Ebonarm will be briefed by me on their zones. Our goal is simple; find survivors. Heal them if possible. Now, gather around so I can tell you where you'll be searching." Erandur said as he pulled out a map of the city behind him. I wasn't surprised; he was always prepared for something.

So, we stood there for a couple minutes while Erandur told us what we were doing. Honestly…I wish we just skipped the formality of it all and just run into the town like everyone else would have. Seriously, some dying person could be crying out for help this very second, only seconds away from letting go and dying, and here we are…discussing how we're going to walk around looking for people.

We finally split up into our teams and we started walking through the town. The first thing I noticed was all the destroyed buildings. Primrose, who was our newest team member (to replace Erandur), actually grabbed me around my arm.

"Look at it." She said; her voice whispering. She looked at the buildings and the dead bodies littering the floor. She let go of my arm and her eyes squinted for a second. "It's like being back in your dreams."

Davilia chuckled a little before she nodded back at Primrose. "I was thinking the same thing. Think there are any zombies here?"

I looked back at Primrose to see her face turn even more fearful and she wrapped her arms around me again. "Please, don't say things like that, Davilia!" Primrose squeaked out.

I only sighed. Were my dreams really that bad? I mean; didn't everyone dream about giant pools of blood with dead bodies lining the walls? And if not that; didn't they dream about zombies overrunning the world and killing everyone that they held dear? It was a common night for me; but then again, I witnessed the death of my parents and spent the majority of my childhood traveling ancient ruins with my sister, looking for stuff to sell.

Travis pulled me out of my thoughts as he started walking ahead of us. He looked back at Davilia and said, "Ok, TL. Where are we starting?"

Davilia brushed her hair away from her eyes and said, "We're going to search the Fighters Guild. That's where Erandur wants us to search."

So, we walked across the town, looking at the devastation as we walked past. The other search teams were dragging out dead bodies of the civilians. Some bodies that were dragged out here still moving, so as soon as they moved, four or more battlemage trainees were gathering around it, pouring Restoration magic into it.

We finally found ourselves at the Fighters Guild. The building looked completely destroyed from the second floor down, but since the door was still intact, Davilia decided that we were going inside anyway. So, she walked up, stuck out her finger, and then the door latch unlocked. She pushed the door open saying, "Imperial Battlemages. We're coming in to look for survivors, so no attacking, please."

Primrose followed behind me and Travis stood outside the doorway, keeping watch for anything that may want to follow us. The inside of the building was devastating. The staircase leading up to the second floor was collapsed and the body of the Fighters Guild Master was lying with his sword in his hands. The Redguard probably never stood a chance.

Davilia looked eager. She searched all the dead bodies and said, "He isn't here."

"Who isn't here?" I asked. Who was she looking for?

"My dad. He isn't here." She said as she looked back at me.

"Your dad?" Primrose asked in disbelief. "Who is your dad?"

"I am." A voice called up from the basement. We all looked to the basement door to see a Dunmer with iron armor and a giant mace in his hands looking at us. "Davilia, I never expected to see you again."

"Father!" She screamed and ran into his arms. He hugged her back lightly.

"It is nice to see you, ashling." He said with his eyes tearing up.

Davilia looked back at us and said, "My full name is Davilia Oreyn. My father is Modryn Oreyn."

He nodded a greeting to us and looked down at Davilia. "What brings you here, sweetie?"

"Sir, we're here to investigate what happened to this city." Erandur called from the doorway. He nodded to Modryn and walked in.

Modryn nodded to Erandur, his eyes shifting from full of emotion to full of business. Erandur just poured official business energy and it seemed to affect all the adults who've seen war. Erandur was definitely a leader who commanded respect when he wanted it.

"You want to know what happened?" Modryn asked. He pulled out a silk bag and reached inside. Davilia's eyes lit up with some anticipation and she shook her father at the waist.

"Are you going to show us a story?" She asked impatiently. I had never seen this side of her. She was acting like a child. Just how long had it last been since she saw her father anyway?

Modryn nodded to Davilia and rubbed her head. "Yes, ashling. Gather around and I'll show you what happened here." He reached into the bag and pulled out a bunch of ash. He cast it into the air and said, "It all started this morning…"

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_So, next chapter will be all in Modryn Oreyn's POV. Isn't that something; I sure hope so. Who would have guessed that Modyrn was Dav's father? I did!_


	45. Ch 45: Destruction of Chorrol

**Cearbhail:**_ I enjoyed this. A new character who you'll see a lot in the coming stories; Branwen. She even gets her own POV in the Rogue Shadowscale. She is one of the main characters. Yeah, her father survives too. They deserve a happy ending. Also, I hope you all figured this out yet, but...eh.. why spoil it. I'm sure by the end of this chapter, you'll see who the new enemy will be once this whole conflict ends. The Empire is shattered, its army destroyed, so who would try to take over the other continents? Well, you'll see._

* * *

><p>-Modryn Oreyn-<p>

"What are you orders, sir?" I asked the Master, bowing my head to the floor.

I could hear the tapping of his feet. He was worried about something, I could tell.

"Modryn…don't bow to me." He said so casually, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I looked up to see him smiling, shaking his head lightly. This was my best friend; Master of the Fighters Guild. His name was Roland. He started off as some recruit that I took under my wing. He helped me stop the Blackwood Company when it threatened to destroy our organization.

"If I don't bow, sir, I'll forget my place." I said back to him. It was true. It was hard to remember that he was the boss and I was just the advisor. I must admit that I wanted his job; I wanted to be the Master of the Fighters Guild, but that offer was passed by me and onto him. Eh…I was too old to be the Master anyway, but not too old to advise.

Roland only sat down in his chair and let out a large sigh. "What have you found out about this enemy that attacked the Imperial City?"

I turned around and looked at our two newest recruits; Branwen and Saliith. They were recruited through the Arena; when our esteemed talent scouts saw them fight a bunch of trolls in the arena. They both signed in after a long discussion of what they would be doing in the Fighters Guild and that they could still fight as combatants when they weren't working missions. Their first mission was to go to the Imperial City, where they knew their way around, and to collect whatever data on what happened there and to report back to us.

Branwen nodded to me and then approached Roland. "Sir, we found a few survivors at the Mages Guild. Some person by the name Adam Ernard and an Argonian by the name Tar-Meena. They were the only ones who were alive at the Mages Guild, but there were other survivors spread out across the whole city. All accounts described the assaulters as; Blue, orcish, orange-robed, Daedra-looking, and able to fly. They were fast, they were everywhere, and they attacked everything."

I looked back at Roland, who sat there with his head resting on his hands. He looked lost for a second before he sat back, giving Branwen a quick nod. "Thank you, Associate. Where are these survivors now?"

Saliith walked forward and said, "They wanted to stay in the city, to help rebuild it."

"What about the Imperial Army? What about the Council?" Roland asked the questions as fast as he could.

"Sir." Branwen shook her head in defeat. "Chancellor Ocato didn't make it; neither did the other Council members. The Imperial Army within the city itself was decimated, but not without taking many of the baddies with them. In fact, we brought back on of the bodies with us. It's sitting downstairs on the table, waiting for you sir."

Roland was suddenly on his feet, down the stairs, and next to the table. I was slowly following behind him, but with the two younger fighters rushing as well, I was the last one down to see the body. Seeing the body now, I could just see how ugly the thing was. It looked alien compared to anything I'd ever seen. It was a light blue but something about the scales on its skin glittered with a golden shine that I found my old eyes attracted to. Everyone else looked entranced as well.

Finally, Roland reached up for the dagger on his belt. He pulled it out and stabbed the thing in the head. I waited to see if it would move but it dind't. He slid his knife out and started to clean it off. "Gold blood? What is this?"

I looked at the knife. Yes, there was glittering liquid gold sitting on it.

Roland only shook his head before saying, "Good work, Branwen and Saliith. We'll hand this over to the mages next door and see if they can find out what this is."

The body suddenly jumped up and it opened its mouth. A loud shriek poured out that even make my old ears split. Everyone was falling to their knees and Roland was reaching for some claymore sitting next to the table. He slashed the weapon and the head fell clean off the neck. The shrieking stopped and we all started to get back up (although we stayed clear of the now quiet body).

Roland looked up at me and said, "What the heck?" I knew the question wasn't directed at me, but he did look like he was asking me for advice. I had never experienced anything like that. So, I shrugged as he looked back at the thing. He looked over at Saliith and said, "Saliith, go get Teekeeus and have him come here to examine this body."

Saliith nodded and quickly vanished from the room. Within the minute, two Argonians came rushing into the door. One of them was Saliith, the other was Teekeeus. Teekeeus walked up to the body, weary at first, but then he rushed up, waving his hands around like an idiot. His eyes looked extremely focused, however. He finally looked away and hissed at Saliith. Saliith nodded and suddenly vanished into a black mist.

Branwen looked upset by his dismissal. She said, "What? Where did Saliith go?"

"Back to Black Marsh, to tell our Queen about the enemy that we now face. I must prepare Argonia for war." Teekeeus said to the Redguard.

"War? What is it?" Roland asked Teekeeus.

"It is Aedra; an angel. Argonians have recorded our brief war with them in the past. Anyway, we must prepare for battle."

I was about to question him, until I heard a series of explosions.

The ground underneath us shook violently and we all fell to the ground. Teekeeus hissed out in annoyance. "They are here. Quick we must…"

The wall next to him exploded and a giant orb of white magic incinerated Teekeeus's head. Roland quickly grabbed Branwen and threw her down the basement just before another shockwave hit the floor above us. Roland shoved me and I tumbled backwards down into the basement while I watched the floor above us fall right onto Roland.

I rolled down the stairs, hitting my head on a couple of them while I continued to tumble down. Wearing heavy armor helped a little, but the fact that it was heavily was what caused me to stumble down the stairs in the first place. Branwen had already gotten up, was dressing herself in some iron armor, and was grabbing a sword. I rolled myself off my back and waved to her. "No, stand down. Hold here and wait until I get back."

I saw her fidget a bit and she looked at me like she wanted to go. I gave her my best 'no arguing' look I could muster and I started to climb the stairs. I reached for my mace that always hung around my side. I walked back upstairs and saw that Roland was lying dead. I reached down and closed his eyes. I couldn't believe another of my students was dead. He had so much promise when he joined and he accomplished so much in his short life. As always, it should have been me that was killed, not him. I lived my life and I was no longer useful, but he was in his prime.

I rose up and walked to the door. Outside, I could see hundreds of the things flying up in the air like bats. Giant white balls fell from their hands and onto the ground around us. Civilians were crying and running in any direction that they could think of. Vilena Donton was standing outside her large house, swinging her own sword in vain at the enemies in the sky. At least the city guards were shooting arrows up into the sky, hitting a few before more balls of mass would come raining down, exploding the area around the archers. Our archers were smart, though. They dodged out of the way, avoiding the range of explosions.

More fighters from the Fighters Guild started running up to the now battlefield. Mages poured out of the Mages Guild; shooting magic at the sky, summoning creatures to fight for them. I looked over at Vilena and my old combat drilling kicked in. I took off running for her; running through exploding stones, evading arrows that were falling back to the ground, and shoving people in my way. I made it over to Vilena and tackled her just in time to miss becoming a crater in the ground. As we hit, I could feel the ground behind me shatter into pieces, which only rained on top of us.

Vilena looked more or less shaken but she still had her wits about her. "Modryn? What the blazes are you doing here?"

I picked her up, surprised that my ancient arms could even lift her. "Getting you out of here." I said. I started sprinting back to the guild, her bouncing over my shoulders in her own iron armor. Was I mad? Did I think that I could make it back to the guild before either of us died? I didn't know, but I knew that my knees were cracking and my legs were giving out. My leg buckled and we both fell to the ground. Vilena managed to roll to the door of the Fighters Guild and she actually rolled into the building.

"Modryn! Why are you just sitting there?" She called out in a sarcastic demeaning tone. She was back to acting like her old self. She stood up and walked over to me and stuck out her hand. I took it and she pulled me into the guild. "I'm guessing we're meeting up downstairs, right?"

I nodded. She sheathed her sword and willingly walked downstairs.

I walked back outside and saw that the battle was nearly over. The Aedra were starting to turn around. Our warriors were crying out in victory. I joined them outside to congratulate them but then I looked back at the sky. They came back as one giant wave. Orbs of white started falling to the ground, smothering every inch of the city. It started at the gate, decimating it. The explosions continued forward like a wave of destruction.

"Everyone! Down to the basements! Get somewhere underground!" The guards called out. Several of the fighters and mages ran into our guild, where we knew the basement was still intact. The survivors who followed me began running down the basement stairs, while I continued to file them in. After the last of them made it through the doorway, I threw myself in. I raced downstairs and just as I finished clearing the doorway, I could feel the explosions overhead. The rest of the building probably started falling down around us, but I didn't look to see.

We waited. We didn't know if they had gone yet and we hadn't heard any all clear. I just assumed that the guards would be the first ones out. What was this? If this was an attack, it was sloppy. Maybe this was a message. They only showed up after their dead body squealed. I looked around the basement filled with survivors. Yeah, we got lucky today. Hopefully, we would continue to be lucky.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Teekeeus got his head blown off! Man, I hated that guy and always wanted him to die. but, anyway, he was a Shadowwraith...just like how Nexa is a shadowscale. Oh yeah, Saliith is also a shadowscale. Lots of Argonian spies in Cyrodiil. Man...who could possible benifit from a weakened country with no rulers or army to defend it?_


	46. Ch 46: New plan

**Cearbhail:**_ So, another Friday. Don't have much to say, unfortunately. Still coming up on the end, maybe 15 chapter left if even that. Still something might happen and it might lengthen. Still don't know if I want to end this with the destruction of the Aedra, or if I want them to spill out into the second book. I might just make it one of those types of stories. Most likely the latter, though._

_So, this chapter was not a favorite...I'm not sure I even knew what the heck I wanted out of it until I went to Vatu's POV. Anyway, new plot twist..again. OH! And, we find out who Erandur's father is. Yeah...you'll either be surprised or not. When you think about it...and look it up, you'll see that it makes sense._

* * *

><p>-Davilia-<p>

My father was alive…he was alive. Here he was, looking old and balding, looking way older than he really was. The Fighters Guild sure did make him age faster than he was supposed to. Looking down at my hands, seeing the leathery skin with calluses forming on my palms and on my knuckles…I looked much older too. I was only 15, I shouldn't have leathery skin. Looking over at Vatu and Erandur, I noticed similar looks across them as well. Vatu's fur was not the bright orange it was when I first met him. His fur was browning and losing its bright color. Erandur's eyes were constantly sunken and he rarely smiled without provocation. We haven't seen much war, just training, but we were still aging faster than we normally would have.

Still, even though I was training to be a battlemage, I couldn't help but feel like a little child again. The last time I'd even see my father was when I was six and from then on, I'd only see him once a year. It was nice, but I felt some resentment building from not seeing him. I shook it off, and for the first time, saw Vatu's face. He looked shocked. Not 'this is my father' shocked, but… "did I hear what I thought I heard' shocked.

-Vatu-

What did I just hear…or see? Did that vision just finish telling me that a scout from the Fighters Guild reported that ONLY two people survived an attack at the Arcane University? I didn't hear Nisha's name in any of it. How long ago did it happen? Pictures of Nisha with dull gray fur, with pointy fangs, red eyes, blood on her dress, filled my mind. They were quickly replaced with Nisha's body lying on the ground, lifeless. I felt my blood come to a boil only to come crash back down into despair.

My little sister…could be dead. She was the only thing I had left.

Impatiently, I pushed past Davilia and her father and ran straight down the stairs. I knew one person who knew what happened; that Redguard. It was almost as fast as I got downstairs that I spotted the Redguard from the magical ash. I ran up, grabbed her by her shirt, and pulled her in so that I could see her face-to-face.

"What do you want?" She asked far too gently for someone being grappled within a second's notice of meeting someone. All the people behind us were reaching for their weapons, but the Redguard was waving them off.

"The Arcane University; you went there, yes?" I asked as soon as I found my voice. It was hard to ask; I didn't want to know that she was dead.

"Yes, I was there. Why?" She was asking very patiently, not moving at all. I could see her eyes starting to take a new light; she knew why I was asking.

"My sister…she's a mage there. Khajiit, small, still a cub. She has bright orange fur with black lines running under her eyes, wears ugly green robes, and usually carries around a dagger. Did you see her?"

The Redguard patted me on the shoulder. "No, I didn't see her; alive or dead. I searched every single body that was in that city. I would have remembered a Khajiit cub."

"So, she could be alive then?" I couldn't believe just how much this was tearing me up.

She nodded. "Yes. Since her body wasn't there; my guess is that she was not inside the city when it was attacked."

I let go of her shirt and my knees gave out. I fell onto my knees, crying. There was hope; my sister might still be alive. It wasn't a very good chance, though. She never left the Imperial City, let alone the Mages Guild.

The Redguard bent down and patted me on the shoulder again. "If you want; I can come with you to find her."

"Is that what you want, Vatu?" I heard Erandur's voice.

I looked up at the staircase, where Erandur was standing. He must have been standing there since he saw me fly down the stairs. Erandur started walking down the staircase. "We have orders to go to Dive Rock and wait for BI Hans to show up so that we can take our final exam and become battlemages…luckily…if we were to…I don't know…take a wrong road that led to the Imperial City instead of Bruma, we could still make it there only one day later than we originally intended."

Was Erandur actually suggesting that we divert from our mission? I didn't know he could think like that. "You would do that, for me?"

Erandur nodded. "You are my friend, Vatu. Besides, having you upset is not something any of us want to see; it's demotivational to everyone else and we have to stay a clear distance from you in case you decide to pull off your ring."

Even though I was upset, hearing about my Sen'la'gar made me laugh. Erandur was smiling, so I knew that he was kidding around. I stopped smiling and looked back up at him. "So, when can we leave?"

Erandur shrugged. "We can leave right now. We have the information we looked for; we have found survivors, healed any wounded. We have done the job we set out to do. Now, we'll head to the Imperial City and do likewise. I'll place one team per district, and our team will be the one to go to the Arcane University…so we can find your sister."

The Redguard nodded and said, "I can come too, if you don't mind."

Erandur shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. You're needed here. You're a fighter in a town full of injured. It's now part of your responsibility to look after these citizens."

The Redguard nodded. "Right." She stuck out her hand and said, "My name is Branwen. What's yours?"

Erandur shook her hand. "I am Erandur Ocato…I am High Chancellor Ocato's son."

All of us stopped. What? He was our current leader's son? How did I not hear this at least once since I've known him? Looking at him, I could see the similarities behind him. His face looked like a younger version of him but his hair was a little longer and more golden in color than Chancellor Ocato's.

They shook their hands and then she brought her hand over to me. I shook it and said, "I am Vatu."

Branwen only nodded and said, "After this is all done, I'll come and find you guys to see if you found her. You're all battlemages, right?" We nodded and she smiled. "I thought about joining that for a while, but I guess I only wanted to follow my father's footsteps."

Davilia and her father started walking down the staircase, with Primrose right behind them. Modryn nodded at Branwen and said, "Don't mind her; she likes to talk a lot. You should all leave before she gives you her whole life story."

Erandur nodded to Davilia and said, "Dav? Are you ready to go, or do you want to stay here for a while?"

Davilia looked over to her father and then back to Erandur. "I'll have plenty of time to catch up after all this is over. I'm ready to go." She turned to her father and bowed. "Goodbye, father. Please, take care of the city."

Modryn bowed back and said, "Goodbye, little ashling."

We started to go back upstairs, where we met up with the rest of the search teams. Erandur quickly gave out a report we'd gathered about the Imperial City and the attack on the Mages Guild. As battlemages; we were obligated to go and reinforce the Mages Guild, as well as search for wounded and help with repairs. I wasn't sure if he was just creating a story as to why we were going there, or if he was being serious. I agreed with every word he had said, though. It was our job.

I looked down. Within six hours…I would probably see my sister, one way or another. I hoped it was the other.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So, another chapter down. Ok...Davilia's father is Modyrn Oreyn, Travis is actually Branwen's brother...yeah.. Erandur is Ocato's son, Davilia is the daughter of the Warlord...as well as the granddaughter to the Queen. What about Vatu and Nisha? That's easy; their father was a healer from the Imperial City. His name was J'mhad. Their mother was Abhuki (more on how they met later, maybe...who knows, could be a short story all its own)_


	47. Ch 47: Not here

**Cearbhail:**_ Yeah, I know it's Saturday. Yesterday was troublesome, I was busy with some serious discussion on otherworldly matters, since I am a good voice on dimensional discussions and some things have transpired that may have created a whole now world of...well I'm not going to get you all involved in that._

_Anyway, My computer was just attacked by a virus, so I may not be posting for even longer now. Hopefully, this scan will fix anything wrong. You'll know because on Sunday I may post another chapter. Get this over with. Anyway, enjoy._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

So, the past three hours were nothing but a fast jog/walk to the Imperial City. We didn't stop to rest and any resistance we met along the way was dealt with quickly. I didn't slow down for anyone, not even Erandur and Davilia, who were behind me the entire way. Travis and Primrose tried to keep up with us but ended up with the rest of the battlemages trying to pull up the rear.

When we finally reached the Imperial City, or whatever was left of it, I didn't wait to be inspected by the remaining City Watch members. No, I charged right through them and into the city, while Erandur started to brief the City Watch on whom we were and why we were here. I don't know what really happened, but I continued to race through the city; briefly noticing how destroyed the city was. It reminded me of the time Mehrunes Dagon rampaged the Temple District.

I quickly raced through the town, Davilia right behind me and Erandur catching up after talking to the guards. I dodged over dead bodies, rubble, even still walking citizens. I wanted to get to the Arcane University.

When I reached the gate, I came to a dead stop. Right here…I stood right here with my sister just a few months ago. I remember how the gate seemed so magical, that it was a new life for her and me. I thought our lives would be better…I thought that our days of wandering around were gone. I thought we'd be safe. I scrunched up my claw into a fist, which drew blood from my palm. Why? What did I do to deserve this? What did any of us do to deserve this?

I looked up at the gate now. It was barely hanging on its own hinges. It was stained with blood and dirt. It was bent and broken. It seemed appropriate. What seemed so great and safe was now barely hanging on, already stained by battle. This was no longer my sanctuary, I had no sanctuary anymore. What more could happen?

I pushed my way past the gate with Davilia right behind me. The amount of bodies littering the ground alerted me right away. I could see the party that had been going on here. Davilia saw it too. "What? A party? They died in the middle of a party?"

I nodded. "Yeah…my sister's birthday party, I'm guessing."

We started looking around. I was interested in seeing only one body, though. It wouldn't be hard to see. After all, she was covered in orange fur. How could I possibly miss that? I searched the entire guild, but I didn't find her outside. So, I started walking into what was remaining of the buildings. I looked and looked, but all I found were more dead bodies. We all eventually met up outside what was left of the Arcane University.

"I'm sorry, Vatu. I didn't find her." Davilia said, wiping away a tear from her eyes.

Erandur nodded and said, "Me too. I didn't find anyone still alive."

I smiled. I know that they didn't expect to find me so happy. I had hope. Her body wasn't here and neither was Nexa's. I didn't look for her, but I didn't see it so she didn't die either. Nexa was probably the only person who could have and would have protected my sister while the entire guild burnt down. I could trust her with that.

Erandur must have noticed that I was smiling. "Vatu…she may not be here, but everyone else is dead. Can you show at least some respect?"

Davilia gave Erandur a glance before saying, "If the entire guild were destroyed and I was busy worrying about _you_, I wouldn't give a shab about how many were dead, just finding you. I can understand how Vatu feels." She walked up to me and threw her arms around me. "We'll find her, Vatu. Don't worry."

Erandur crossed his arms. "I'm sorry that I'm not sympathetic, Vatu, but I'm thinking on a whole here. The Mages Guild…the Arcane University…is gone. We're finished. We're all that's left; the battlemages. And we have an assignment: get to Dive Rock. I will lead us to the end of that assignment. Like it or not."

"Well, haven't you grown up a lot?"

We all turned around. There, climbing up the stairs leading to us was Adam Ernard. He bowed his head to us. I could see the fresh patch of blackened skin around his head. He looked like he just survived Oblivion; the sequel. He nodded to me and said, "So, you're looking for Nisha. I can tell you what happened."

I only looked at Davilia and Erandur. They both nodded to me and I looked back at Adam. I nodded and said, "Please."

Adam smiled thinly. "When we were attacked, we all started fighting. When he started dying off, I ran up and scooped Nisha in my arms. Someone blindsided me and I found my body succumbing to a paralyze spell. She crawled out of my arms and she was running for her life. A frost spell caught her leg and she fell down. That was when I saw the Argonian shadowscale. She appeared from the shadows and grabbed Nisha. They disappeared into a portal, but not before Nisha tossed some potion into a monster's hands. The potion lit up and burned the crap out of the monster."

The world seemed to lift. Nisha _did_ get away. She _did_ escape with Nexa, so both of them were still alive. Primrose had just walked up that very second, finally catching up to us. I couldn't stop myself from rushing up to her and giving her a giant hug. She screamed the whole time while I did hug her, which I found hysterical. I knew that she was afraid of me (because of her time in my head), but she was on my squad now and she had to accept that I wasn't leaving.

When we finally finished hugging, she pushed herself away from me. She saw all the carnage and looked back at me. "So, did you find her?"

"No, she escaped with Nexa. She is still alive." I said.

Primrose smiled a little. "That's good." She looked over at Ernard and her eyes clouded over a bit. "You're wounded." She drifted over to him in a trance, it seemed. She stuck her hand out and golden magicka flowed from her hands and onto Ernard's head. I had no idea what was going on, but Ernard seemed more at ease about this than the rest of us. Davilia looked like she was fighting the urge to walk up and do the same.

The golden magicka around Ernard's head faded away and with it, the blackened skin. He looked good as new. He smiled and thanked Primrose for healing him.

Erandur looked at all of us. He said, "So, Ernard. What are you going to do now?"

Ernard shrugged. "Bury the dead, rebuild, and prepare. I'm going to go find the Arch-Mage and we'll all fight these creatures. They will not get away with this. This is war."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, so another chapter down and Ernard is confirmed to be alive still. I liked him too much to kill him and I've come to my conclussion of Primrose. She will stay and more than that, well...I shouldn't spoil it. Love triangle anyone? She likes cats... damn, I spoiled it. Anyway, Next chapter is going to go by fast. Might be very short. Don't know yet._


	48. Ch 48: Dive Rock

**Cearbhail:**_ No virus; I'm good. Another chapter._

_So, stuff's slowing down again until maybe two chapters from now. Next chapter...well you'll see. Since they've set in place, it's time I go back to the other side of the story, you know; Nisha._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

We finally made it to Dive Rock. After we left the Imperial City, it was pretty much a straight shot to the mountains to the north. It took us six hours (with rests, of course) to get there. Everyone was exhausted from the run to the Imperial City so once we left, we pretty much just walked. From what I overheard, everyone helped clean up the city for the brief day we were there. We stayed overnight to help bury the dead and help fix the buildings with our magic.

So, once we got to the base of the mountain…we stopped hiking. We stopped walking, we stopped everything. We just stood there, looking up the massive mountain that now looked so tall, so impressive, so…impossible to climb. When I could finally take my eyes away from the mountain, I looked around at my squad's eyes. Davilia looked like she was going to die, Erandur looked exhausted but ready to get up there, Primrose looked…well she was looking at me. When she noticed me looking at her looking at me, she averted her eyes to the mountain and displayed a very shocked and mocked false interest at climbing. Travis was looking down at his boots, drawing lines in the snow.

Finally, Erandur walked up to the front of the pathway leading up the mountain. "I may not know what's up here, but we're not done yet. We are not done 'til we reach the peak of Dive Rock. Once we get up there, we'll set up camp and finally relax. How's that sound? I promise; we'll stop for breaks every hour."

…

We didn't stop for breaks and it took us five hours to climb. The first two hours were walking/navigating over large rocks. Two more hours were vertical climbing with little to no hand-holds, or foot-holds for that matter. We all had to use Alteration magic, a variation of Water Walking, only called Snow Glue. It basically let us pull ourselves up the snowy mountains more easily than trying to pull ourselves up. The last hour was us running out of magic and having to find other ways to get across. We settled for having me make hand-holds by me shoving my claws into the ice and carving out hallows for everyone else to climb up…one person found the ice crack and he fell to his death. We stopped to mourn him.

We finally made it up to the top and we started fixing up our tents. An hour later, we heard some noise and up comes fell-off-the-mountain guy. He brushed his armor off and then he shrugged. "Shield."

My tail started hurting and I reached over to massage it again. I had a good chunk of fur missing and it hurt like shab. Primrose gave me a sympathetic look and bowed in apology.

Oh yeah, there was one other thing that happened during the climb up. Primrose was climbing up behind me, using my ice sculpting to help herself climb, until her hand slipped. Now…I should have known better than to keep my tail down where anyone could grab it. Well…

She grabbed it when she slipped. I screamed, she screamed, Davilia screamed, and Erandur behooved her to not let go, while I was protesting and told her _to_ let go. Meanwhile, I'm digging all four sets of claws into the ice so I don't fall. We hung there for almost a minute before enough Feather spells were cast on her so that she could not break my tail…and I was basically pulling her up, at least until she finally found enough courage to let go of one hand and grab onto one of my hand-holds that I carved out.

So, here I was, rubbing my bruising tail which I was certain should have been torn off if it weren't for Davilia's quick thinking with the first Feather Spell that happened right as soon as Primrose cried out when her hand slipped. Primrose was walking over to me, and I had to keep my temper under control. She is easily afraid around me, worried I'll gut her or something, and if I let something like her grabbing onto my tail just to keep herself from dying against her, then I wasn't a very well-mannered Khajiit.

She folded her hands behind her back and said, "About earlier…"

I raised my claw to her to silence her. "It was a matter of life or death. I would have done the same and I would not expect any less in the future."

She blushed a little. "Thanks. But…I've been treating you like a vampire that's ready to bite my throat and…you've done nothing to deserve it." She bowed a little deeper. "Can you please forgive me?"

I smiled and I rushed up to her. I threw my arms around her in a close hug, which caused her to whimper audibly. I chuckled. "Still afraid?"

I could hear her whispering. "Not evil, not evil."

I gave her a good shake. "For a Bosmer, you sure are afraid of animals."

She finally looked up at me with different eyes. "Animal?" Then her eyes changed again, understanding suddenly flowing. "Khajiit, an animal. That's right. I have power over you." She finally pushed me away and smiled. "I can control you. I have nothing to be afraid of. In fact, if you slip up, I'll just put you in your place."

I watched as she strolled off. What had I just done?

Davilia, who had watched the whole thing, walked over to me, a small smile growing on her lips. She walked up beside me and nodded. "Congrats, you just made her aware of just how much power she really has over you."

I only shook my head. "What did I do to deserve this?"

She, shockingly, only laughed. "Her first encounter with you was your nightmare realm. If that was the first impression I had of you…I would never get near you ever again. As it was, I had a whole week of being tied up with you and Erandur, making it so that I had to depend on you two to get out of there alive. You guys never left my side…well until you two actually left my side and jumped into a lake…leaving me behind with Aedra surrounding me."

Her eyes hardened for a second and she reached over and punched me in my arm. "That's for leaving me. Anyway, if it were not for that and actually being squaded up with you and Erandur, I wouldn't have known you at all. So…that's all I have to say."

She started to walk away. "Where you going?"

She turned around and said, "To punch Erandur for leaving me as well…and to thank him for coming back."

She finally left, leaving me to sit by my set up tent. The sun was starting to set; heck we spent the whole day climbing. I was supposed to go out with Primrose in a couple minutes to go fetch dinner. My nose and her control over beasts would make finding enough dinner for all of us easier than sending out a squad of regular armor-clad non-hunters.

I took this time to lie down on my mat and let the world slow down. It wasn't five minutes later when Primrose stuck her head into my tent. "Vatu, come on. Let's go hunting."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ha, Primrose is not afraid of Vatu anymore. I wonder how I can use this against him in the future? I'm sure to find something out, but I'm already thinking of Inuyasha (Sit, boy!). Hahaha, man...that would be fun._


	49. Ch 49: Cloud Ruler Temple

**Cearbhail:**_ Going to have fun with the whole Primrose/Vatu thing. She's definately staying now. Anyway, back to Nisha and guess what...we finally get to meet the Arch-Mage. Things get a little serious again but I'm going to try my best to bring humor back into the story. It started off humorous and then it just stopped (I think around the time the gang was kidnapped) but anyway, time to get some jokes and habits started (like Primrose screaming whenever Vatu touches her, or vise versa)_

_Anyway, enjoy._

* * *

><p>-Nisha-<p>

Finally, we were safe.

The portal worked like a charm. We jumped in and seconds later we were falling onto the hard rock floor of Cloud Ruler Temple; the last safe haven apparently. When I looked up, I could see all the Blades who were outside, watching for any of those flying monsters. There were plenty of Bosmer and Imperial Archers with magicka-bound bows and arrows lining up the walls, looking out at their field of vision.

Finally, an old man with balding gray hair, wearing the shiniest gold armor I've ever seen, walked up. He looked at Jurard and bowed with a show of respect. "Battlemage Jurard, It's been a long time."

Jurard blushed a little. "Grandmaster Jauffre. Are you aware of what's been going on?"

Jauffre nodded. "Yes, we have been sheltering refugees from all over Cyrodiil. Once we heard about the attack on Bruma, we sent Blades to every major city and brought back anyone who was willing to come. We're still waiting to hear from the group in Chorrol but I will have to send a new squad to go see what's happening there."

It was time that I finally spoke. "What about here? You're gathering everyone into one spot…isn't that anti-survival? What happens if the creatures come here?"

Jauffre smiled and nodded. "That is a very good point. The fort that we now stand on top of has tunnels that run deep underneath our fort. If we are attacked, we will hold them off as long as we can while all the citizens make their way through the tunnels. The tunnels go off in many separate directions but each one has an exit, so if everyone goes off in their own direction, they'll eventually end up outside the mountain."

Jurard looked around. "Are there any other battlemages here?"

Jauffre nodded. "Yes, Battlemage Commander Hans is here right now, briefing the Arch-Mage on what he's learned about the enemy. He had a full-proof strategy to beat them, but we need to focus all our forces on this one assault."

Jurard smiled. "Commander Hans knows how to win this war? Did he mention how?"

Jauffre only shrugged. "He didn't say. Once he's done here, he's going to go Dive Rock to see the end of the training of the newest brigade of battlemages."

That was my brother's group. I could feel him searching for me…and personally, I didn't want to stay here. I raised my claw and both of them looked at me with curiosity. "I want to go with Commander Hans to Dive Rock. My brother is there and I'm sure he's worried about me."

Jurard nodded. "Don't worry, I'm going too. I'm part of the last training simulation."

I smiled when I realized that I could see my brother again. I bet his face would melt upon seeing me. I couldn't wait to tell him that I found a way to kill these…wait a second.

"I have important information that could help you in your war." I yelled as loud as I could.

I said this right as the Arch-Mage herself and Battlemage Commander Hans walked outside the temple. Jurard and Jauffre both looked down at me and Jurard's eyes went from inquisitive to informed.

"Oh…yeah. That's right. Nexa told me briefly, but what happened again?" Jurard scratched her head.

By now, the Arch-Mage, a beautiful skinny Breton with brown eyes and black hair, walked up with Commander Hans, who was bulky with long curly black hair. Seeing him next to her made her look so much smaller, but she was actually taller than Hans was. I could see just how swollen her stomach was.

She nodded to me and said, "You must be Nisha, my adopted daughter. I am Sosia Ernard, the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild."

Hans looked over at her and said, "What's left of it."

She smacked him on the chest lightly. "I will fix it once this war is over." She looked over at me again, her gaze softened. "So, you have a secret about these…Aedra?" She looked over at Hans, who nodded back.

"The…Aedra burn with fire and oil. They will burn up until they are nothing but ash. If you douse your arrows in oil and shoot fire-enchanted arrows at the beasts; you'll kill them."

Hans and Sosia both smiled. "Good plan. Let's see if it works. Iver!" Sosia called at the top of her lungs.

Iver, another battlemage (I could tell by the blue fabric sowed into his fancy mithril armor), came running up. He bowed to Sosia and said, "Yes, Arch-Mage?"

"I want you to send this report out via crystal ball; enchant all bows and arrows with fire damage and then douse all arrows in oil. This will allow us to fight these beasts in fair combat. If they can get creative with oil and fire…please get on that. Can you send that?"

Iver smiled and pulled a crystal ball out of a pouch. He said, "Already sent, ma'am. We're getting acknowledgements all around Cyrodiil, Elsweyr, Valenwood, and Summerset Isle. They all understand what needs to be done now."

Sosia nodded back at Iver and turned to Hans. "I'm sorry about using your men like this, but this is no time to…"

Hans pulled his hand up. "The battlemages serve the Mages Guild and its leader. My troops are yours to command. I am needed at Dive Rock, so you'll be the only person leading the battlemages at this moment." He looked over at Jurard and said, "Are you ready to go to Dive Rock?"

I raised my claw. "I want to come too. I…have this feeling that my brother is looking for me and if I don't show him my face…I think he might lose it."

Sosia looked a little upset but she nodded. Hans sighed in defeat. "Yes, you may come. What are you?"

"I'm a mage…" I said as a question. What the heck did he mean by that?

Jurard patted my head. "She's the best alchemist of her time; that's what she is."

Hans smiled. "Oh…an alchemist. Good, we'll need one for our troops. Welcome to the battlemages, if you don't mind."

I only nodded. "Thank you." What could I say? No? Nuh-uh. Not here. I guess I was an honorary battlemage now.

Hans started walking away and said, "Well, are we leaving or what?"

I looked down at my bloodstained, muddy, and still wet robe. Was he serious?

Jurard shook her head. "We just finished swimming in Argonia's black swamps…we need some time to get ourselves cleaned."

Hans only shook his head. "Females."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So, we're done with another chapter. Nisha is going to go find her brother and will actually be part of the battlemages now. She won't do any training, though, just being attached to their battalion as a potions creator; heal life, poison treatment, you know..that stuff._


	50. Ch 50: Reunion

**Cearbhail:**_ Short chapter. Next one might be just as short, but with the two POVs I guess it would be just fine. So, this chapter is about reunions and then...it all goes bad...so bad.._

* * *

><p>-Nisha-<p>

blanket; check. Fur boots for when it gets cold; check. Vials filled with plenty of oil; check. Family dagger; check. Three adults who are traveling with me; check. Yes, J'skar is joining us. Book of basic spells; check. Extra food; no. Change of clothes; no. Well, I didn't have everything on my mental list, but it was enough for me to make it to Dive Rock.

It was still cold and snowing, but it was good enough for me. Having fur that surrounded your body was nice in this type of weather; especially for me. I was a cub, so I had all that fluffy fur that you'd expect. It always got too warm in the Imperial City for me, but up here I felt more comfortable with my puffy fur.

Commander Hans waited patiently at the gate to the entrance of the city with Jurard and someone else who had his hood up. They were chatting with him with smiles on their faces, so I guess he was a good person.

So, I started walking over to them, hoping to see who they were talking to.

"Is it true?" I heard from behind. Sosia came running out of the temple, running as fast as she could while holding her massive stomach in place. "Is he really here?" She cried out in joy as she raced past me.

The masked figure turned to face us and suddenly, the world came crashing down on me. My knees gave out as I looked upon his face. That face…I saw its lifeless eyes glare at me again, only…this time they weren't dead. They were alive….Adam Ernard was alive. That feeling of guilt of him dying to protect me started to resurface only to explode in a wave of relief and overjoy at seeing him alive again. I rose off my knees and charged up to him, throwing my arms out. "Adam!"

He caught me and spun me around. I was purring pretty loudly now and even though I was embarrassed at making such a sound while not in Khajiiti presence, I was really happy to see him. Sosia was also embracing him in her massive hug. It was times like these that I expected…

"Do you see that?"

"How could I not; they're everywhere…"

Crap…

They came flying over the walls, blasting white energy everywhere. The Blades and archers started shooting and slashing, but they were quickly overcome when the wall started falling down. Everyone started blasting off their magic spells; Hans was going epic and handling a few dozen himself while Sosia pulled out two mage staffs out of nowhere. She was blasting waves of fire and electricity, while spinning around with three shield spells protecting her. Adam looked more confident this time, but as he turned left, one came right. His head exploded on contact.

Sosia was the next one to go. A giant sword burst through her stomach and she cried out in sorrow and fell onto Adam's body. I saw them coming for me next, so I ran. I felt a series of explosions on my body and I fell down. My family dagger broke off my belt and rolled away from me. I turned to grab it, but there standing in front of me…was an Aedra. It hissed and me and I felt a cold wave of pain wash over my face….

…

I shook my head. I scared myself sometimes. I was getting paranoid now, thinking of Aedra coming out of nowhere and killing us like they did at my birthday party. Good thing that was all in my head and not reality. That would suck….

Adam smiled at me. "So, you're going to go find your brother?"

I nodded. "He's worried about me, I can feel it."

Adam nodded. "I know. He was just at the Arcane University looking for you. He was very sad but happy when I told him about your escape."

I smiled in return. "So, he knows I'm alive?"

"Yes. At least, he has hope that you're alive. Where's Nexa?" Adam started looking around our group.

Jurard looked down. "We were taken prisoner in Argonia. She helped us escape and to keep herself looking innocent, I had to blast her with lightning. She's probably being interrogated right now."

Nexa…I had forgotten about her. What was happening to her? Was she safe or was she being tortured for allowing us to escape. I guess I wouldn't find out unless I ever saw her again. I doubt that, though.

"We're about to head out to Dive Rock to finish the new battlemages' training. Do you feel like joining us?" Hans asked.

Adam shook his head. He looked over at Sosia and flashed a smile. "No, you guys go ahead. I'm going to stay here and catch up with my wife." He patted me on the top of my head. "It was great seeing you again, Nisha. Take care."

J'skar, who was so silent that I forgot he was even here with us, finally spoke. "Can we go now, please? The longer we stay here, the more time we take up and the more the Aedra kill our comrades."

"Not with the knowledge of how to fight them now. I'm expecting to see a change in this war." Hans said, while rubbing his chin.

Adam only shrugged. "Our enemies seemed to take their time attacking us; if they know we have a chance of killing them, they'll be even more aggressive at killing us off. I think they're just messing with us right now."

I could understand both sides of the argument. Who knew just how powerful the Aedra really were? There could be more than we could imagine but I doubt that.

Hans finally shrugged. "Discussing this doesn't do us any good. Let's just go."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, with how often I actually DO kill off main characters, I bet you saw that coming (the whole false desruction thing) Anyway..._


	51. Ch 51: Uderfrykte Matron

**Cearbhail:**_ Sorry it's been so long. I had this ROTC thing... it was a weekend FTX, which is basically sleeping outside with military activities to do...and when i came back I was instantly sick so...I was bedridden and unable to think up new things. So, here I am, after Trick-or-Treat to post the next chapter. Still sick, but well enough to think this up. Enjoy._

_Just to make up for my sickness, I made this extra long as well as brought up a well-known myth. It won't be named in the chapter, only the chapter will have its name. have fun._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

Ok, so this hunt is going just fine. Primrose is taking up a stealthy position behind me and I'm sniffing the air for any indication of any living thing around. We're still at the top of the mountain, following what we believe are deer tracks. Looking down at the tracks, I can easily see that they continue to lead across the snowy top. If we managed to capture at least one deer, that would be enough for all of us to get something to eat besides all the extra supplies we brought with us. Of course, when you're staying on a mountain, you like to hold onto your emergence supplies until you can't wait any longer.

I looked back at Primrose, who nodded to me. I sniffed the air, catching the scent of fresh deer meat just up ahead. I nodded back at her and she took a deep breath. She cautioned me to cover my ears, which I did. She started talking, but I was too busy humming to myself to block out her voice. I could still feel my body coming under a spell, but my mind was so preoccupied that I managed to trick myself out of it.

Out of nowhere, four deer started walking up to us. They were in a trance, I know. They stood there, looking at Primrose. I uncovered my ears and drew my bow. I looked over at Primrose, who looked upset. "I have to kill them, you know?"

She looked away. "Just do it." She turned herself around. There was one problem with bringing a Bosmer hunting…they hated the killing part of the hunt.

I drew back my arrows and quickly killed all four of them. We would have to save two of them for the next day, if it was going to be needed. Who knew how many were out here? There might not be any more living up this high. I walked over to the dead deer and quickly pulled all the arrows from their necks. I looked over at Primrose, who was still looking at some tree behind us.

"Primrose, it's ok to look now." I called out.

"Shh." She barely turned to face me, instead still looking at the tree.

I sighed and stood up from my fresh kills. I slipped my bow around my back and walked up to her. I placed my arm around her shoulder, which caused her to shiver and whimper. "I can't carry all of these meat-bags by myself. Now…"

"Vatu…" She glanced over at me. "Shut up. We're not alone." She flicked her eyes back over at the tree. "I saw something…move by that tree. It's just standing there, watching us."

I looked over at the tree. I didn't see anything, but it did seem fuzzy near that area. Not to mention, I could see the cold air materializing out of nowhere. "I don't see…"

"Detect Life, you idiot. Detect Life." She whispered back at me.

I groaned and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I could see the light purple mist surrounding the left corner of the tree. She was right, there was something there alright. What the heck was it? The purple haze fizzed away, leaving me to look at nothing again. Well, whatever it was…it wasn't bothering us. "Fine, stay here and watch nothing stare at us. I'm going to fetch this meat."

I stepped away from her and started over to the dead deer. As soon as I grabbed one of their heads, I heard a loud screeching coming from the tree. Loud…painfully loud footsteps that shook the ground started sprinting for me and I could see the snow smash down and bits of snow fly up into the sky as whatever it was came running for me.

Primrose, while being stuck between me and this…thing, just stood there as it came charging for me. She screamed out in surprise or pain as she was suddenly lifted off her feet and thrown away. I watched as she flew over the edge of the mountain, screaming as she quickly fell down the side. I could still hear her screams die off. I wondered how far she fell.

I didn't have time to worry, though. That thing was still coming at me. In the second it took me to raise my claws in defense, I was already being tackled off my feet. I gripped what I thought was fur and whatever it was started rushing me. Since I held myself out, it kept pushing me through the snow as it tried to get to my throat. I could feel the hot breath raking my face, the growl that shook me to my core, the invisible eyes shooting daggers through my soul.

By now, I had forgotten that I could use magicka. I don't know why my first reaction isn't, 'Hey…why not blast it with fire or frost?' or… "hey, why not turn invisible and drain its life?'. I guess it just wasn't the first thing on my mind. Well, I started thinking this plan up while I continued to slide against the snow. I started forming my plan until I felt my head crack against a large rock behind me. Good thing I was wearing one of the iron helmets given to us. It kept me from dying immediately. The rock did cause me to loosen my grip, which allowed the beast to follow through on its bite.

It bit me on the shoulder; once again it didn't really matter with iron armor on. It did punch a few holes though the armor, though, getting some of its teeth through my fur as well. I stuck out my palm and aimed it right in front of me. I launched a giant surrounding fire spell, which exploded from my palm. I must have been right on the beast for that to happen. The feeling of pressure and teeth on me vanished and I allowed myself to sink back against the rock. I looked as the fire cleared and I could see smoldering smoke pouring off of an invisible creature nearly twenty feet away from me.

I sighed and started to get back up. I had to go find Primrose. I looked over at the smoke, not hearing anything. Good, it was dead or knocked out. I walked over to the edge of the mountain, looking down. Where did she go? I didn't see any trace of her and it was a long way to fall. I heard some growling and I turned around just in time to see three footsteps appear in front of me. I felt something grapple me and thinking fast, I threw us both over.

The cold air blasting over me, the claws scratching against my armor, the fire I had blasting from every inch of my body. I basically made my entire aura a raging fire that cooked the creature clinging to me. I finally got it to let go long enough for me to spin around it so that I faced the mountain. I kicked out with both feet, pushing it away and pushing myself over to the mountain. I created a shield around me but crashing into a mountain side, while wearing armor and a magical shield, still wasn't enough to keep me from rolling down the mountainside for a couple feet. I landed on a rock sticking out from the mountain, which pushed all the breath out of my body. I was able to stay conscious long enough to roll myself off my stomach, and then I passed out.

-Primrose-

I froze. I heard stories about the invisible monster living up on top of the mountain, but I thought it was just a story. That didn't stop the myth from grabbing me and throwing me over the mountainside. I could have tried talking to it; I could have tried moving. All I knew was that I was falling. I looked up…or I looked down…I was upside down, ok? Whatever, I looked up and saw that the ground was pretty far away. I considered my options but I cast come Feather spells on myself and I found myself falling slower. I called out for help and I heard some screeching. A hawk that had heard me was flying over and grabbing me by my foot. I aimed my hand at him and cast Great Strength and Rally on him. The hawk suddenly had the will and strength to slow me down and even brought me over to a tree, where I grabbed onto a branch.

I looked up to see Vatu looking over the edge. He was probably looking for me. He turned around and just like that, he jumps off the mountain, lighting himself on fire.

….

What the heck was he thinking? I hope he wasn't killing himself for some stupid reason.

I watched as he continued to fall, eventually pushing himself onto the mountainside, landing on a large rock. He rolled himself onto his stomach and then…he stopped moving.

I sat there and watched. He hadn't moved in the minutes I waited. I finally looked over at the hawk and patted him on the head. "Thank you, Hirsonk, but I have to go."

The hawk nodded to me and took off to the sky. I judged the distance to the ground, pulled out a rope, tied it to the branch, and jumped out of the tree. Bosmer did this all the time. I got towards the ground and the rope started pulling me. I used it as a giant swing and brought myself to the other side of the tree. I launched myself off my rope, soaring over the ice and snow. Vatu was right there. I touched down on the side of the mountain, using my Alteration to grip the snow. I glided down the side of the mountain, sliding right over to Vatu.

I took a second to catch my breath and then looked down at him. I placed my hand on his face and felt hot breath escaping his mouth, some cold air pull in, and more hot breath escape again. Good, he was still breathing. I pulled his eye open to glance at his pupils. They weren't dilated, good. He wasn't in shock. I scanned his body, using my third eye to scan for any injuries. There were none, good.

Once I found out that he wasn't injured, I grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a shake. "Wake up, Vatu." His eyes started fluttering and then they snapped open.

"Primrose?" He said lightly. Then he growled and said, "I thought I killed you." He growled lightly.

Oh please, like I would die in such a way. I stood up and kicked his leg. "Vatu, try to place me on a higher platform. I am not nameless, I am not some random guard…I am your teammate. Furthermore, it wasn't your fault that I was launched over..."

Vatu wasn't looking at me, though. He was looking past me. It was then that I felt very hot breath flow down my neck. Every inch of my body went cold and I locked in place. I knew what was behind me. I knew it, but I didn't want to turn around. I felt razors rake across the back of my neck and…I…

-Vatu-

I jumped up in time to grab Primrose as the monster slashed at her. I jumped back, hugging her as tightly as I could. My foot slipped and we both fell off the rock. I hit the side of the mountain and I held her even tighter to me. I had to protect her. I could feel her blood flowing from her neck and I knew if I dind't hold onto her that she would die. Right now, instead of producing a shield, I was busy pouring healing magicka into her neck. I wasn't a healer like her but I knew enough about healing to get some scratches healed up.

I felt the mountain scratch against my iron armor as we slid down the mountain. I caught a rock, which pulled both her and me into a tumble. I continued to hold her tight, but now I felt her grab onto me as well, pulling me in as close as she could. "Vatu?" She seemed confused.

"Don't worry." I yelled. I felt something crash into my back, causing me to stop. In that same second, Primrose's head contacted with mine and we both cried out in pain. She pushed away from me, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I'm alive?" She asked in disbelief. "I thought for certain that I was dead."

I smiled thinly. "Maybe you're a vampire." Remembering the dream where she was actually fighting my vampire sister.

Her face turned white and she looked away. "Don't even suggest such a thing." She turned around and looked around. "That thing is still after us."

I reached for my back and found no bow or arrows. "Shab." I said. "My bow must have been lost a while back ago."

Primrose unsheathed her dagger and tossed it to me. "Here, use this."

I pushed off the tree and watched. I activated my Detect Life and I watched as a purple mist ran down the mountainside, straight to us. I started weaving fire damage to the dagger. I wanted this to explode into the beast when it contacted with it. I fed as much energy as I could into the dagger, as fast as I could. I could feel the dagger glow with unknown strength. Finally, the purple mist was upon me; the hot breath crying out in hunger, the pain the eyes were shooting at me, the thumping of the heavy feet on stone. I leaned forward, shoving the knife out, meeting a soft fleshy target.

Then…I felt it. The explosion. The beast cried out in horror and even as it cried, I could feel the body expand. All invisibility ended and the first thing I could see was the materialization of organs and blood as it exploded over me and Primrose. She cried out in horror as well and I as we were showered with blood and guts. The world came to a stop for a couple minutes as we stood there, silent.

Finally, Primrose started brushing the crap out of her hair. "Why…" She said. "Why is it every time you get to fight…we end up covered in blood and guts?" She flicked some blood out of her hair. "I'm starting to believe that you _are_ sick in the head."

I cleaned the dagger off and handed it back to her. "Come on, let's get back up and collect our deer. I'm tired."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So, we have some alone time for Primrose and Vatu...she is definately becoming her own character now in her own ways. Talking and using animals while being the healer of the group...I say that's pretty...ok, i can't think of something to say to that. I was pretty close to having that scratch on her neck kill her...very close. Changed my mind at the last second. I was going to make it a tragic scene of him holding her dead body, crying... the monster coming, him pulling off his ring... and reaving havoc on it. but...hm...damn...that would have been good._


	52. Ch 52: We're here

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, stayed up to post a second chapter to make up for the long wait. Once again, I'm sorry for getting sick. Anyway, enjoy._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

Primrose and I made it up the mountain in an hour's time. The sun was already disappearing under the ground and the stars were already starting to peak out. It was getting colder. It wasn't like we were wearing fur armor; we were wearing iron…just iron and normal clothes. Primrose was freezing…I was fine because let's face it…I'm covered in fur.

We had to skin one of the deer, which I threw the bloody body over my own skin. I didn't mind more blood covering me. I used some of my fire magicka to dry the skin and I threw it over Primrose as a robe. She thanked me and started dragging two of the deer behind her back to the camp. Camp was only a few minutes away. They probably expected us to be back by now. I wondered why there was no search party gathering around to find us.

Primrose and I made it back to the camp with the deer. As we walked in, I could see Erandur and Davilia shouting orders. "You two, stay here in case they come back. Davilia, you take the lower level of the mountain. Don't be afraid to shoot off fireballs to show them where we are."

Everyone stopped as soon as Primrose cleared her throat. "Um…we're back."

Davilia rushed up and threw her arms around Primrose. "Oh thank Mara! We thought you were killed."

Erandur walked up. "We saw the dead deer as well as the troll footsteps. We could see the fight that happened as well as the footsteps that fell over the side of the mountain. We came back to get a search party ready to scale the whole mountain for you two."

Davilia and Erandur actually started looking at us. Davilia threw her arms off of Primrose and said, "You're covered in blood! What happened?" She asked while she started wiping the blood off of her own armor.

Primrose looked down at herself, shocked that she actually forgot that she was covered in...whatever it was's blood. She wrapped herself in her new deer-skinned robe and started wiping her face off with it. Davilia in the meantime was helping Erandur drag the deer into the camp. He placed two of them in a tent and covered them with snow; casting a frost spell on top of them to keep them frozen. He placed the skinned on from my back on a small bedrock next to a fire and started gutting it.

Erandur looked over at me and said, "You did a good job skinning it, Vatu. You didn't damage any of the meat."

I flashed him my claws and said, "We are predators that wear fur armor, Eran. I think I can skin a dead animal." Reminding myself of fur armor made me pull my iron cuirass off and inspect it. I had holes punctured in the left shoulder and the back was so dinged and scratched that I was amazed it held up as long as it did. The armor itself was in good shape but I would have felt better with new armor plates.

Primrose was finally clean-ish enough that she accepted her current condition. Her hair was back to looking dark green and her skin was back to being a paler green color. She smiled at me and waved as we made our way to the fire.

…

The rest of the night was pretty light. Primrose and I told our tale of what happened and everyone including Erandur was surprised that we made it out of there alive. No one expected there to be an invisible beast that hunted up here. They were glad we dealt with it instead of running back to camp where it could have found all of us. With all of us here in this small space…where magic could fly everywhere, it would have been bad. I didn't think it would have been bad, though. Erandur with his dual katanas would have cut it up early, no doubt.

We ended up eating only one deer and still had plenty left over. I don't know how it happened; I just know that it did. It was a pretty large deer and we did eat a small meal. I thought everyone would have been starved from the climb up, but apparently the cold weather made everyone's stomach scrunch up. Hopefully, we wouldn't be here long enough to starve or run out of food. I made the suggestion that we should eat more, but Erandur dismissed it saying that they would eat a large breakfast instead. Eating this much before turning in at night was unhealthy.

So, we spent the remainder of a couple hours just chatting. Since I shared a tent with Erandur, we both stayed up later than almost anyone else. He wanted to have shifts guard the camp, but we quickly found ourselves not caring about protection from…whatever was going to come into our small camp. We instead set up a magical defense that surrounded us. Twenty feet away from the entrances from our camp, we had energy detectors, as well as a massive Soul Separation. (so Aedra wouldn't find us) The energy detectors would wake us all up mentally and tell us exactly what was coming to us. If we didn't like it, we'd get up to face it. If it was some rabbit, I'd probably come out to catch it.

-Nisha-

We hiked all day and most of the night as well. We weren't hiking far and Hans assured us that we'd reach our destination first thing in the morning. Normally, I would have been much more tired than I was. The only reason I wasn't tired was because…I was hiding it. J'skar and Jurard did enough for me as it was; I didn't need to add more to it. I was an eleven year old Khajiit…it was time I started acting older than it.

So, when we settled for the night, I was surprised at how fast Jurard and Hans could summon a whole camp from the battlemage arsenal. They had their own methods of teleporting equipment when they needed it. I wondered how they kept getting new supplies out in the middle of nowhere. When I asked about it, they confirmed that they had a large arsenal filled with everything that was sectioned off into separate summoning circles that were engraved with crushed Welkynd stones. They had been there for centuries and it was still as powerful as when they first created them.

I did my best to be out of the way of the adults setting up camp. I took one of the tents and set it up for myself, but J'skar turned to me and said that we were sleeping in the same tent. I started to ask why, but he explained that in the wilderness you always used the buddy system when you had buddies to partner up with. It was a safety issue.

So, I slept in the same tent as J'skar and we both woke up as the sun started shining in our tent. I climbed out of the tent to see Hans and Jurard already up and cooking a dead boar that they had found and placed over a fire that they had already built and lit. I wonder just how long they had been up.

Jurard welcomed me when I climbed out of my bed. "Well, good morning, sleepy-cub."

Sleepy-cub…I guess that was my new nickname. I just smiled and offered my morning blessings of the Nine. I offered to help with the cooking or the cleaning or the…anything, but they just smiled and told me that they could handle it. They didn't want a child to do adult labor…

…

I really hate being called a child. Is it really fair to not let me do anything just because I shouldn't have to do it? It just makes me want to do it more. Being treated like a child is what makes me try to act so grown up. I can't wait until my claws come in, so I can start training as a warrior like my brother. It wasn't something all Khajiits did, but it was a symbol of me finally growing up. The day my claws could actually extract would be a good day for me. They could right now, if I forced them, but they were sad little stubs of nails…not long sharp claws.

I sat there, eating my boar in peace and quiet. J'skar sat beside me, talking to me about the day his claws extended and how weak they were at first. "It takes time to toughen those babies up. It took me a whole year to actually scratch a wooden dummy without feeling like they were going to snap off." He laughed as he used one of his claws to cut a piece of meat off my boar and fed it to me…I wish he'd stop treating me like a young cub.

We finished breakfast and started walking again. We were just below Dive Rock; according to Hans and Jurard. So, after a few minutes of walking and climbing over snow-covered mountains, I found Hans and Jurard stopping by a rock.

I ran up to them and they held their hands out at me. "Nisha, stop. We have a situation here."

Hans reached out and touched the air. "Soul Separation, perhaps? What's this other enchantment?"

Jurard reached out to touch it as well. "I don't know."

"Oh for Mara's sake…it's a detection alarm." J'skar said as he walked up. "I taught them this in Illusion school. It sends a mental alarm to all the casters within the bubble as well as Jurard's Soul Separation…it would make it a safe place from seers and Aedra."

Hans nodded. "Good thinking, students. Well, time to trick the alarm." He said as he walked through. One second later, a massive explosion happened under his foot. The explosion of fire seemed to roll off of him like it didn't even bother him and he just continued to stroll through. What type of man was he?

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So, next chapter we'll see Vatu and Nisha reuinted. Won't that be a nice thing to witness? Might do something drastic to ruin it...maybe not. Not sure._


	53. Ch 53: Reuinted

**Cearbhail:**_ Happy Sundas. Anyway, a new chapter. Vatu and Nisha get reuinited finally and Hans finally starts the final training mission. Coming up on the final act. Well, after this the battlemages get their first assignment. That first assignment will be the one to save the world...for now._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

Lying in my cot…I felt relaxed. We forwent the whole watching over the camp plan while we slept and instead we all just slept as much as we felt. Breakfast was being cooked, Primrose was chatting with Davilia, and Erandur was sparring with Thomas. The other squads were doing their own thing, and since I didn't know those people personally, I tended to not think about them. I always watched my squad and just faded the other squads out of my mind.

Looking up at the clouds that were so close that I could just reach out and touch them, I started to think about where we were at. We climbed the highest mountain in all of Cyrodiil and we were living up here until our BI come by to tell us exactly what we were doing. I wondered how long we were going to wait. It was easier to relax knowing that Nisha could be alright. After all, she was with Nexa, who wouldn't do something stupid like bring her to Argonia. I hope Nexa wasn't that stupid. She might feel highly about her race, but one sight of a Khajiit and it would be a massacre.

Feeling slightly cold, I decided to pull my head back inside the tent. We weren't doing anything unless Erandur wanted us to do something, like go hunting and we wouldn't need to do that for a while so I was pretty much out of a job. I could just sit back and relax and sleep. I planned on doing just that.

I heard some rustling outside my cot's opening and I looked down to see Primrose waiting with Davilia near the entrance. Davilia smiled and waved while Primrose just glanced at me. "Primrose, Davilia. What's the matter?"

Davilia smiled. "You didn't feel the alarms go off, did you?"

I nodded. "I felt them. I figured Erandur and the others would handle it. We're a recon squad; we're not the main combatives. That's security squad's job, not ours."

Davilia smiled even deeper. "So, do you know who has come to visit us then?"

I shrugged. I knew that three humanoids had walked into our camp and almost as fast, the security squad was out of their tents and running to the barrier we set up. I heard some talking and I knew that Hans was probably here, finally. Who the other two were, I didn't know yet. "No idea. I just know that three people walked through the barrier."

"Four, actually." A soft voice purred from outside my tent, just outside of where I could see. My ears perked up instantly. My fur started to rise. In a second, I was rolling to my feet, pushing past Davilia, who was beginning to cry and laugh, and staring at….

My sister, Nisha. She stood there, a head shorter than me. She had the bright orange fur I left her with, a little singed and blood-stained but still orange. She had on a light blue mage's robe and she still had our family's dagger strapped to a belt that was wrapped around her waist. She flashed me her teeth. "I'm not a vampire, brother. It's me."

All the images of seeing her as a vampire, dead, bleeding to death… vanished. They were illusions and they were now shattered because here she was, in reality. Safe, alive, in one piece. I rushed up and grabbed her. I lifted her up and gave her a big hug. We both purred like crazy. It was a very beautiful scene.

-Nisha-

I knew when I walked into camp that I had to surprise Vatu. I knew he wouldn't just get up and run to the barrier, expecting me to be there. After all, he thought I was either dead or missing. He wouldn't expect me to just show up at his camp. I was met with a tall Altmer who, on one sight of me, grabbed me and said, "You're coming with me."

He started to drag me away but the Dunmer came up and stopped him. "No, not like this. Let's have some fun first."

The Bosmer that was following behind her was blushing and turned her head away. "It would be interesting to see him react to her voice." She blushed even deeper.

Wait…did she like my brother? I shook my head at that. She was a Bosmer; she probably thought of my brother as an animal or something.

So they brought me to Vatu's tent and I could already see his tail just poking through the doorway. Primrose and Davilia, as they introduced themselves to me, walked up to his tent and started talking to him. I stood outside patiently, waiting for my cue to say something. They chatted lightly, well Primrose tried not to make too much eye contact with my brother. She was probably worried she'd give something away if she got too involved with the conversation.

Finally, it got to where I could speak my practiced line, well it was a little different because Vatu wasn't supposed to mention three people…he was supposed to notice four. I was supposed to say, "What, you didn't notice it was me?" Instead I had to say, "Actually, it was four."

It was then that Vatu started scrambling out of his tent. He pushed right past his friends, as expected and stopped inches away from me. I knew he was looking me over. He stood there, so much in shock that I think he actually froze. I decided to flash him my small insignificant fangs and said, "I'm not a vampire, brother. It's me." I saw the life come back in his eyes and he rushed up and grabbed me. He picked me up and started hugging me. I hugged him back, happy to have my big brother looking over me again. Our family was back together.

-Erandur-

It was…I guess it was beautiful. It was nice to see Vatu happy again but the fact that Hans and Jurard were here make me think that we were about to do something. As I thought, Hans and Jurard were walking up to me. They stopped to appreciate the scene of the two Khajiit siblings before they approached me.

Hans shook my hand. "Erandur, nice to see you all made it here in one piece. Would you please gather everyone around so we can begin our mission brief?" He looked over at Jurard. "Go get everyone ready. Take J'skar with you. We'll use him for our mission."

Jurard nodded and walked away. I watched as she talked to J'skar and handed him a cape. J'skar tied it off and they walked over to the edge of Dive Rock. Jurard jumped off, with J'skar following a minute later. I pushed away from Hans and ran up to the edge of Dive Rock. Did they actually jump off? I looked down to see them hundreds of feet below, still falling to the ground. Hans grabbed me from behind and yanked me back.

"Don't get too close, Erandur. You don't want to join them, not yet. Now, get the others here."

I nodded and whistled sharply. Everyone started getting out of their tents to gather around. Vatu and Nisha were coming up with Primrose and Davilia. Looking around, I could see that everyone was here. I looked over at Hans and saluted. "Sir, everyone is here."

Hans nodded and finally said, "We are here to do two things; your graduation jump and your final practice mission. The jump is very simple; you will enchant your own falling cape. A falling cape is what we use when we have to free-fall large distances. It is enchanted with Feather and Light Levitation. It has to be light enough so that you do fall and fall fast but land softly and without injury. This not only a test of your abilities of judging how much magicka has to be in something to get the desired effect that you want, but it is also a test of courage. After all, you have to trust that you made it perfect, to know that if you fall thousands of feet that you will land, unscathed, and ready to do your mission."

Hans handed me a map. "Your objective is the Ayleid ruin; Fanacas. I'm sure you'll all find it on your maps after this brief. Inside, you'll find a statue just like the one you found in the Ayleid ruin; Vilverin. You must navigate and fight a large force of evil sorcerers and conjurers. They plan on using this statue to summon the past ghosts of the Ayleid Kings. They plan on using them to summon an army strong enough to overrun all of Cyrodiil and take over our empire. We must not let that happen so we're going to go in and take that statue from them. This is a group effort so you'll all either pass or fail."

Hans shrugged. "Just a recommendation; separate your squads to do separate jobs instead of rushing in as one force. Doing the latter is a good way to fail all at once." He saluted us and started walking backwards towards the cliff. "Oh, by the way; I'm going to be watching over the statue, so you better send your best at fighting or your stealthiest sneak. You should also send the best scanner, so you don't run into any traps. That's all I got." He finished as his feet skimmed over the edge. He smiled and waved one last time before he pulled out a cape like the ones on the ground, started falling, and disappeared over the edge of the mountain.

I ran over to see. He was falling quickly towards the ground, half saluting me as he attached the cape, slowing down just soon enough to hit the snow hundreds of feet below. I turned around and looked at everyone. I said, "Ok, we have five squads. A recon squad, a security squad, and the other three invasion squads. I suggest we plan out our assault now and then get our robes ready. Davilia?"

Davilia nodded and said, "Yes?"

"You're good at telling when something is perfect. I want you to oversee the enchantment of the capes. Primrose?"

She nodded. "I guess I'm in charge of plotting Fanacas on the map?"

"You got it. Find us a good rally point to meet up at once we've free-fallen. Once we get there, we'll plan our attack and which squads will do what." I looked at everyone. They nodded. Now there was only one thing left. "Which squad is Nisha going to be in?"

Vatu grabbed her and said, "She's staying with me."

I nodded. "Ok, recon squad she's in. Thomas, you'll be taken out of the recon squad and instead be placed in the offensive invasion squad. With your offensive spells, you'll make a good distraction while our stealth invasion squad moves in to find the statue."

Vatu raised his hand. "I'm the stealthiest thing we have, so can I be in the stealth squad once we get in position?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. That was a very good point. Our stealth squad wasn't the best choice. I would have to change things around if I wanted this to be done right. I nodded. "Once we get to our rally point… Primrose, get started on plotting that, we'll make the decision."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Glad to see that Erandur is back to doing what he does best; telling others what to do. Next chapter, going to be fun, I hope._


	54. Ch 54: Rendezvous

**Cearbhail:**_ Sorry, I know it's not Friday like I normally post on. I was... preoccupied with certain matters that needed, nay, demanded my attention (coughs: Skyrim). Ok, ok... I've been consumed in the new story line... almost... so almost considered having the characters getting frozen in crystal or something and then having them wake up in civil war Skyrim, fighting against the corrupt Imperial Legion, while the Shadowscale Resistance begins its purge of the Imperial Legion as well as the Khajiits of Elsweyr. I still might do it. Please, let me know what you think of that._

_Anyway, standard chapter. Enjoy._

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

We got everything done within two hours of our briefing. With Davilia overseeing our cape enchanting, we got every single cape enchanted. Since I was very good at enchanting too, I actually ended up enchanting almost half of the capes. We make them as powerful as we could. It wasn't just the capes we were enchanting, either. We were preparing for war after all. Our scouts had headbands filled with Detect Life. Our stealth squad had enchanted wear that would allow us to turn invisible. Our diversion squads had shielded armor as well as quickened reaction spells. More than anything… we all had rings enchanted with Soul Separation. We wanted to stay invisible no matter what happened.

We all jumped one at a time. I wasn't positive that my cape would work properly. I bet we made them too strong or not strong enough. I knew enough to know that Davilia's mother did this for a living so she had plenty of experience of seeing how strong any enchantment had to be.

Erandur waited by the edge of the cliff. Primrose was in front of me, tying on her falling cape. She nodded to Erandur, who nodded back. Primrose glanced back at me and nodded. "Remember, our rally point is the small lake near Fanacas." She turned around and threw herself over the mountain. This was the second time I had to sit and watch her disappear over the edge. It wasn't any easier this time, either.

I stood there, waiting for Erandur to wave me forward. He looked over the edge and finally he looked back up at me. "Ok, Vatu. You're clear."

I walked up to the cliff. I could see pretty much forever. I could actually see Fanacas, barely though. Looking down, I could see just how far down I could sail if I allowed myself. I could probably end up near the lake if I jumped off just right. My body started shaking at just thinking about jumping off. The past wasn't my friend at the moment; because I was thinking about my fight with the invisible monster that threw me down the mountain. I almost died that day.

Erandur patted me on the back. "Ok, Vatu. Jump, we still have to get everyone else down there."

I nodded and looked back at my sister. She looked as white as a ghost. She never had to do anything like this before. "Nisha, remember; we're meeting up at the lake. I'll wait for you on the edge of the forest. Just get down there and I'll find you, ok?"

Nisha nodded absent-mindedly. I decided to take a step back. If I was going to do this; I was going to do this right. I sprinted forward, planted my foot at the last step, and jumped outward and upward. Just as fast as I jumped up, I felt my body pull down. The wind pretty much caught my breath and I felt every inch of my body stiffen up. I closed my eyes for a second but I forced them open again so I could watch my descent.

As expected, my cape flapped open and I started to slow down a bit. It felt like I was almost gliding down the mountain now. The fear of falling to my death was now gone, but I was holding onto my makeshift parachute with death-grip claws. I could still see the lake, although it was disappearing behind the tree-line now. Speaking of which; I was just now entering the tree-line. I covered my face and felt sharp branches bounce against my armor. I grabbed onto the nearest branch I could and suddenly, I stopping falling down.

The world came to a stop and I just sat there for a second or two, hanging onto the branch while I considered my options. I decided to let go of the branch after glancing down and seeing that I had a good distance to fall without any additional branches in my way. Letting go of the branch, I expected to fall down, but all I did was fall slightly and then I started swinging. Looking up, I could see that my cape was snagged on the branch. Capes…I hate capes. They always get stuck on everything…and then…

…

They rip.

My cape ripped and I fell a good twenty feet before landing on the frozen ground underneath me. Good thing I had armor on…I would have fallen lighter if I hadn't been wearing it. At least my cape lost all its enchantment when it tore in half. If it hadn't lost the enchantment, my landing would have been soft. I'm guessing you know that I'm being sarcastic and that I am in fact, upset about landing on the cold, frozen, hard ground.

Once you hit the ground hard enough to shake your vision and knock out your breath, you usually take a few minutes to let your body figure out its still alive. So, that's what I did. I lied here on the ground and didn't move. I just didn't feel up to moving, is all.

So after a few minutes of quiet recollection, I hear, "Watch out!"

I open my eyes in time to see Nisha just a few feet from hitting me. I just got myself braced and then she came crashing down onto my stomach. Thank Talos for body armor…seriously this time. Nisha landed right on top of me, rolling on top of me. She came to a crashing stop on my stomach and I cried out in a small complaint.

I looked up at her. She was gripping the ground like she was scared that she would float back up into the air if she let go. "Well…hi, Nisha."

She smiled sheepishly up at me. "Thanks for the soft landing, brother." She started pushing herself off my body. She stood up and pulled off her cape. "That was not a fun experience." She said through a shaky voice.

I stood up as well. "I agree, hopefully that will be the last time we jump off something like that."

"Watch out!"

Both Nisha and I looked up to see Davilia come falling down to us. I see her cape wasn't attached to her at all. I reached out and said, "Nisha, Feather now!"

Nisha locked up, looking confused and slightly scared. I acted instead. I stuck out my hand and blasted as much Feather magic at Davilia as possible while blasting some Levitation magic from my other hand. Davilia slowed enough to where she crashed right into me, knocking the wind out of my lungs as we tumbled onto the ground.

After my vision cleared up, I saw Davilia standing over me, smiling. "Thanks, Vatu."

"What were you thinking? Where's your cape?" I asked as I pulled myself up off my butt.

"I guess I was a little tired after enchanting all those capes. I didn't tie it properly and once I jumped, it activated and flew right off my neck." Davilia said. She looked up at the sky and said, "There it is…caught on that rock. Should I go get it?"

I shook my head. "No reason. It's not like we're jumping off of another cliff. Our mission is simple. We're gathering at our rally point, which is the lake down the hill. There we'll arrange into our squads and form our plan of action."

Davilia sighed. "Fine. Lead the way, Vatu."

The three of us started to walk down the hill. I took the lead, Nisha and Davilia walking right behind me.

"So, Nisha, how did you get out of the Imperial City?" Davilia asked.

"Nexa teleported us out of the city; Jurard, J'skar, and I. We got caught by Argonian warriors and put in prison. I was starved for…I don't even know how long. Nexa broke us out of prison, telling us that they wanted our blood. She brought us to the palace and told us to get out. We had to wound her so that she could still be seen as a non-traitor to Argonia. After that, we arrived at Cloud Ruler Temple. I met up with Commander Hans there and he brought me here."

My sister went through all that? Just thinking about her chained up in a smelly Argonian prison made my blood boil. Those Argonians hurt my sister! I would have their blood once all this was over.

"Brother, calm down. It's over now." Nisha purred from behind me. I felt her pull me in for a hug. "We're safe."

Just hearing her say that made me glance around. No dragons above us, no invisible monsters that I could even possibly imagine. No Argonians showing up, no Imperials coming to kill us…no Dunmer slavers coming to make us slaves…and no way I'd get caught off guard. "Davilia? What is your standing on slavery?" I looked her in the eye and she looked monetarily stunned at being asked the question.

"What? Where is this coming from?" She asked defensively. She brushed her hair in front of her eyes and shied away. "Honestly, Vatu. Why now?"

I shrugged. "I just thought of it. My parents escaped slavery in Morrowind. All this talk of being safe just made me think…what could possibly happen?"

Davilia reached for her weapon. "What could possibly happen? Like me taking you to be my slave? Vatu, you're my friend!"

I raised my claws. "I didn't mean it like that, Dav. This is an innocent question. I just wanted to know where you stood on it. I know almost all Dunmer see nothing wrong with it."

She crossed her arms. "My father sees no problem with it, but I wasn't raised in Morrowind. I was raised here in Cyrodiil, where it's illegal. I don't like it any more than you do."

I shrugged and we started walking in silence. It was that uncomfortable silence that was never a good thing. I guess I shouldn't have said anything to begin with, now I Davilia hiding her face from me and keeping her distance.

We finally reached the lake. I could see Primrose and a few others already setting up around a tree stump. Primrose nodded to me and we walked up to her. She saw Davilia's face and said, "Dav, what happened?"

She only shook her head. "It's nothing. So, what are we going to do?"

Primrose only sighed. "We should wait for everyone to get here first."

I sat myself down against a tree and slid my knife out of my belt. I placed it on my leg where I could grab it easily. I pulled my hood over my eyes. "Well, might as well relax until they get here."

Primrose actually growled at me. "Vatu!" She did some sort of scream-whisper at me. "We're close to the enemy camp. I think a little security would be better than sleeping against a tree."

I groaned and stood up. "Sure, I'll just stand here instead." What? Did she expect some sort of attack or something?

"We have a problem!" Travis said as he came running into the camp.

Primrose looked up at him. "What is it?"

"The other squads…they went the wrong way. They've been captured. We're all that left." Travis said with broken breaths. He was winded.

"That is not good." Erandur said as he came floating down from a tree, the cape still flapping from his back. He landed right in front of me and Davilia. "I guess we're the attack force now. So, what are we going to do now?"

Man, he asked the right question, because no one had the answer.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Hmm.. Davilia says one thing but she still hides her face and shame?... I'm not sure she's telling the whole truth... or if she feels very deeply about the slavery issue. I might expand on that later, in fact, I mean to. but anyway, next chapter is going to be a big one with plenty of chaos. Maybe.._


	55. Ch 55: Battle plan

**Cearbhail: **_New Chapter. Nothing all that interesting. Recon, Vatu blah blah. Meet some new characters, and then... next chapter, the fun begins._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

Ok, our plan? Oh, that's simple. Davilia and I were sent in first, as we always were. With enchanted rings for invisibility and soul separation, we were ghosts. I guess sneaking has rubbed off on Davilia because I could barely tell where she was. If it wasn't for the fact that I could smell her in front of me, I wouldn't have known any better.

Fanacas was still as I remembered it. The only difference was that there were a few guards, most of them Daedra Churls. One necromancer stood guard by the entrance to the cave. I could tell that it was Jurard but I had to pretend she was an enemy and defeat her with everything I had…when the time came at least.

Davilia grabbed me by the arm and she started to pull me back. We journeyed back behind a tree that was out of Jurard's hearing distance. "So, how are we going to get past?"

"Better question, Dav; where are the prisoners? If we somehow release them, we'll be able to just sneak past and start our assault while they distract the enemy."

"Oh…that sounds good. But I didn't see them. Maybe they're inside?" She voiced her question.

I nodded. If that were the case, if we could just use one more person as bait…one person who just happened to get lost…someone believable.

"Vatu, I know what you're thinking." Davilia said.

"Oh, do you now?" I asked amused. She better know what I'm thinking by now.

"Do you honestly think your sister will go along with this?"

I shrugged. Since I knew this was only a game, I knew that she wouldn't actually be harmed and she wasn't trained in stealth or combat. Sure, she followed me into some ruins and she did as she was told, but once we got past that door…there were going to be no audible orders and things could become chaotic with actual magic flying around. It would be better to have Jurard chasing her around with the hopes of her actually escaping than to have her in the small room filled with battlemages shooting magic everywhere with falling blades and a giant lake of water just inches away from the walkway filled with who knows what.

Once I told Davilia everything I thought about the situation, she groaned out her acceptance. "Fine, I get it. You do realize that once we get done with this…we will be _real_ battlemages and she will be in _real_ danger."

I nodded. "Yeah but I have time to train her up in that time frame. She survived her own battles so far by listening to Nexa so I don't doubt that she'll be safe by my side. You have to agree that it's better to use her as a distraction than to use Primrose or Travis, though."

Davilia seemed stuck. "But…that…yeah, ok. I agree."

We quickly made our way back to the camp that we set up by the lake. Primrose was busy making sure her dagger was dull but laced with a Paralyze bite. One nick would be all that it would take for her opponent to lock up. Then we could do the coup de grace. It was a simulated instant kill. Paralyzed opponents made for an easy neck grab and then they'd just pretend to die after that. The Daedra and the zombies were actually allowed to be killed, though.

Erandur was practicing his forms with his dual Akaviri katanas. He was back in his real armor; the chainmail with mithril plates. My sister was learning some fighting moves from Travis. He was teaching her the Burning Touch; a very basic fire spell. She would need it.

Erandur noticed us approaching as we took our rings off. He nodded to Davilia and then looked over at me. "So, what did you guys see? Did you spot our friends?"

I shook my head. "No, there was no trace of the other squads. There is one necromancer, Jurard, guarding the entrance. If we used one of our mages to distract her and get her away from the door, we could just sneak our way in and start a riot. Having our friends already inside could be to our benefit."

Davilia nodded. "I agree with Vatu…but he wishes to use his sister to chase away Jurard. He feels that she will present a more…believable target…not being trained like us and possibly getting lost."

Erandur nodded at Davilia. "Sounds about right. They wouldn't buy Vatu or Primrose getting lost, that much is for certain. We need you to detect any traps inside the ruin and I would like to fight Hans myself if I get the chance. Travis could lure her away but he isn't a fast runner. Nisha is small, harder to spot, and she's a Khajiit; the most agile things on land. She's perfect."

"Mind if I offer my opinion on that?" Primrose said. "What if I stay behind with Nisha? Once she leads Jurard away…I could sneak attack Jurard and then head inside with her to regroup with you guys."

Erandur raised his hands. "Ok, fine. But we're missing one key element. We're talking about something that Nisha might not even agree too."

"Then why don't you ask me?" Nisha said, coming up from behind Erandur.

-Nisha-

I overheard everything that my brother said to the others. He must have trusted me enough to think that I could outrun a trained battlemage. Either that or he didn't want me inside the building with him. Was he protecting me or dumping me? No, my brother would just dump me off. He must have suggested it for protection. After all, we just got reunited; he wouldn't want to get rid of me already.

"Are you ok with this?" Erandur asked.

Why does everyone underestimate me? Looking up at the armor-clad battlemage trainees, I felt even smaller. I wasn't even wearing armor. They would have dressed me in Erandur's old armor, but he was three heads taller than I was and his old armor was bigger than me. So, I was stuck in my mage robes.

I crossed my arms and flicked my small tail to show my annoyance. "I can distract some necromancer. I do know magic, you know." I said it as snarky as I could muster.

Primrose smiled. "See, she'll be fine. I'll stay back and make sure she doesn't get captured or attacked by some animal."

Erandur nodded. "Ok, fine." He turned around and looked at everyone. He was their leader, I could tell. With how he just strutted around with everyone followed his gaze, he commanded a lot of respect among everyone. I could feel his leadership pouring through me as well. "We have a plan. Nisha.." He patted me on the head. "has volunteered to get the guards away from the entrance. Once the necro is out of the way, we're going to take down any stragglers with arrows and sneak our way in. From there, we're going to split up. One group will look for the prisoners and release them; the other will find the treasure. Now, if either group finds the other's objective, they will handle it on the spot. The other team may be compromised so we'll do this by the book."

Erandur looked at the groups. "Ok, since Primrose is staying behind to help Nisha escape being captured, we will have two teams of three. Team one will be Travis, and Davilia, and I. Team two will be Vatu, Maniel, and Crassi. Team one is responsible for finding the statue; team two will stealth their way and find the prisoners. Crassi; I know you can find just about anyone with Detect Life so you're team leader."

-Vatu-

Crassi, our female Imperial, bowed at Erandur. "Yes, Commander. It will be done." She looked at Maniel and me. Maniel was our Breton. He was cool, a little too average for my tastes but Crassi was our best detector of souls. It would make sense that she would be our leader. I did feel a little envious that she was the leader and not I but Erandur had his reasons. She finally sighed. "Ok, guys. So, we're going to find and release the prisoners and have them distract everyone while we continue the assault in the ruins. If we can do anything to dispatch the guards without alerting anyone else of our presence, we will do it. Got it?"

Maniel nodded and saluted her, I just shrugged.

"What's the matter, cat? Do you have your own tongue?" She asked with her voice filled with vile.

I snatched my claw out and extended my claws so that they were inches away from her eyes. "This cat will take your sight if you talk down to him." She and I were not on speaking terms, not since our first week of battlemage training. While everyone else forgave and moved on after our little personal wars…she did not forgive me for shedding, something I cannot control, and getting us all locked outside for the night. Ever since then, we've been at each other's throats.

Erandur snatched my claw away from Crassi's throat. "Vatu… enough. Save it for our instructors. Now, we're going to get set up so that we can begin our mission. I want your group up the hill, bows with dulled arrows laced with instant paralysis, ready to go."

I nodded and turned to Crassi. She was still scowling at me. "You try that on me again, cat, and I'll take your fur."

"You even touch my fur and I'll make sure you suffer before I let you die."

Maniel sighed. "This is going to be a fun mission, I can already tell."

I laughed. His sarcasm was always welcome to me.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Sorry this one sucked. I didn't feel myself getting into the zone, with the you know... revisions I've posted. They were getting on my nerves... how badly I wanted to update and fix all the old chapters. But now, back to doing both. Expect more revisions of earlier chapters and new ones to follow just a quickly as before. Anyway, more will come soon and if you haven't revisited some of the older chapters and see what I've introduced. Nothing much, just expanded some detail and some backstory in some cases...that and more dialogue from now main characters._


	56. Ch 56: Graduation test part 1

**Cearbhail:** _Finally, we get to the actual test. I'm guessing this will be a two to three parter, one part the entrance, the other the release of prisoners, and the other the capture of the statue and escape. Not sure yet because they aren't written, well except the entrance...yeah, because it's done and below this intro.. Hope you enjoy it because I put my heart and soul into writting this... all of it actually. Well, there were some chapters I didn't put anything into, but I plan on going back and fixing them, one at a time, in order unless I don't want to change it then I'll skip it._

_Anyway, Nisha is on her way down to see about tricking Jurard. Let's see how that goes._

* * *

><p>-Nisha-<p>

"Nisha, all you have to do is hold this map like you don't really know how to read it. Then walk into the sight of Jurard, complaining silently to yourself about how you can't find the rally point. Then, I want you to just gingerly look over at Jurard and turn around and run off. Even if she doesn't chase you, don't come back. She'll know you're baiting her if you come back the second time. If you fail to draw her away, we'll just do the arrows plan. Hopefully, you'll pull away some of the Daedra standing guard with her, making it easier for us to concentrate all our fire on her."

Erandur's words played through my mind as I slowly made my way towards the Ayleid ruin. I had to keep replaying the same speech in my head otherwise I was afraid I'd forget what I was supposed to do. I also kept replaying different versions of how I thought I should handle this. I kept coming up with Jurard not impressed with me showing up and then I would have to sit there and watch as the battlemages not only ruin their only chance for stealth but draw out the whole attack force that wasn't supposed to be strong enough even when they had all their squads…which 4/5s of them were captured already.

I clutched my map tightly in my grip as I swallowed. I could see the tops of the white marble pillars that surrounded the Ayleid ruin as I came closer. I looked down at my map. Yeah, the doorway should be just up ahead. I stopped to let myself take a deep breath. Ok, this was it. I had to go up there and convince Jurard that I was a stupid cub that took a wrong turn when she landed from her jump. I had to really sell this otherwise the whole mission would be a fail…maybe. Oblivion, I'm not sure if this test was even passable.

"Mortal, you should not be here." A dark liquid voice that sent cold chills up my spine and down my fur spoke up from behind me.

I almost jumped out of my robes as I screamed out and turned around. I stood at waist height to a towering Daedra Churl, who stood there with an annoyed look on his red and black face. He had his hand on his giant sword. He grabbed me by my shoulder. "You should run now…you know…before I kill you."

I nodded and stuck out my palm. I didn't know too much about Destruction magic or Restoration for that matter, but I knew Illusion just well. I blinded him with a bright light spell designed for lighting up dungeons. His grip loosened on me and I turned around and started sprinting for the ruin. I had to get Jurard's attention. I looked around my shoulder to see the Churl wiping his eyes, no doubt trying to regain his sense of sight. He shook his head and looked over at me. He unsheathed his sword and started his chase of me. Skooma! He was going to catch up to me if I didn't do something.

I started sprinting faster, almost coming up on the ruin. By now the Churl was almost within grabbing me. My foot caught in a root and I fell forward. The Churl tripped over my body and flew forward. He slammed into the ground and rolled right back onto his feet.

He smiled at me. "Nice trick, little cat. But you can't fool me by acting the fool."

I was acting? I thought I actually tripped. Looking down at my foot, I didn't see any roots sticking out of the ground. What happened? As the Daedra came up to me, I saw a root discretely rise up from the ground and looped around his ankle. He stepped forward and tripped on himself, falling to the ground. Giant roots started pulling themselves from the ground and wrapped around the Churl. He cried out in horror as the roots started to squeeze him. His cries died out as dark blue blood started leaking through his mouth and eyes.

I closed my own to keep myself from seeing this. Quietly, the roots started to drag the dead Churl underground, hiding the body underground. I heard a light bird call and looked up at the tree that was standing on the outskirts of the woods. Standing up near the top, covered with leaves, was Primrose. She waved at me. Any fear I had inside me vanished. So, she was the one who tripped me and killed the Churl. I was glad she was helping me. I doubt that a trick like that would work on Jurard, though. I heard from my brother that she was a very good fighter, one that didn't get distracted or tricked. She lived through war during the Necromancer uprising. Nothing shocked her anymore.

I stood up, surprised at just how shaky my legs still felt. I could feel bile rising in my throat but I knew that I had to do this. I wasn't alone. I had everyone standing just up the hill watching me and Primrose only a few feet away, watching from the top of a tree. I allowed myself to take a deep breath before I brought my map up and pretended to be focused on it. The doorway should only be a few more yards in front of me, past this fallen pillar that concealed me so well. I started to stroll past the pillar, noticing the ruin and the doorway through my peripherals. I could see Jurard shift on her feet, crossing her arms at the sight of me.

"Um…I don't think I'm supposed to be here." I purposefully turned myself around. "Isn't it back there?" I looked back at the map. "Where the heck is the lake?"

"You should have passed it on the way up here." I heard Jurard say from behind me.

I forced myself to jump and crunch the map in my hands. I slowly turned my head in fear and looked up at her. Jurard, wearing drying fake blood all over her face with a wig of graying black hair, looked down at me with torn old necromancer robes.

"How delicious, it's been a while since I messed with a Khajiit's insides. I wonder if you still have livers." She said that last part to herself but I could hear it with my Khajiit hearing.

I smiled and laughed awkwardly. I turned to face her and started to back away. "Oops…now I know I landed too far."

She reached out to grab me. "Yeah, you did. Now, I get to torture you until the game's over, just like the other squads who flew too far."

I stuck out my palm. I flashed my bright light spell and it found its mark against Jurard's face. She jumped back, grabbing her eyes in frustration. "Oh, you little fur-licker! I can't wait 'til I get to dissect you."

I turned around and started sprinting away. I got about a good fifty feet before Jurard started chasing after me. Good, I had her attention and she was chasing me. I turned towards the woods. I knew I could lose her in the woods or at least keep her running in circles while I played around Primrose.

-Vatu-

Watching my sister run around in circles amused me. I watched, almost laughing my heart out as she continued to play her game with Jurard. The blinding spell was perfect to get her riled up. Now I could see Nisha running around in circles with Jurard tripping over roots that Primrose was probably summoning up. I guess being partially blind would hurt her ability to traverse around the woods. Just thinking about having Jurard chase my sister around while she pretended to be afraid of her just…made me laugh. I knew my plan would work, but I didn't know that I would enjoy it so much.

Crassi pushed against my shoulder. "Stop laughing and pay attention, Vatu. Take the Daedra on the right…the one that's standing by that small pool of water. Hit it right as it walks in front of the pool so that when you hit it, it falls into the pool and fades from view. It'll save the second team from having to hide an extra body before they infiltrate."

I nodded to Crassi and pulled out an arrow. I pulled back my bow and took a look for my target. There it was, just about to walk in front of the small lake. I did shots like this so much that I hardly had to think about it. Right as the target hit my release spot, I let the string go. The arrow raced off and the three of us watched as the arrow soared right into the head of the Daedra. It didn't even react. It just fell to the side, falling right into the lake of water with a splash that we couldn't hear. Crassi and Maniel let loose their arrows, falling the Daedra that came up to check up on the noise. They fell into the lake as well. I looked down the hill to see Erandur and his group run up the door. They got through the door once Davilia scanned it for traps. Now, it was our turn.

Crassi waved us forward. "Ok guys. Remember, we're after the captives. After that, we're tasked with doing anything we can to discretely mess with the enemy and if we get spotted, go all out and try to make Hans come after us while Erandur goes after the statue."

We practically sprinted up for the ruin. I looked at the ground and noticed the engraved symbols in the ground. "Runes!" I screamed. It was too late.

Crassi landed on one of the runes and instantly, giant pillars of rock shot out of the ground. She heard my voice just fast enough to react appropriately. She surrounded her feet in electric magic and pushed off the ground, using the pillars as a boost into the air. The pillars shattered underneath her feet and she flew about twenty feet, doing a mid-air spin before landing on the ground in a roll.

She rolled up to her knees and readied her weapon. She looked around. "Really, silent pillars? That's their defense. I would have set explosives. At least they would hear us coming at least." She looked back at me and nodded. "Nice catch, Vatu. Thanks for the heads up."

I nodded back and we walked up to the doorway. She readied herself and looked at the door. "Vatu, take a natural 20 and find out if there are any traps on this doorway." She smiled.

I actually laughed at her joke. "Ruins and Dwarves. You just used a Ruins and Dwarves reference on me?" Ruins and Dwarves, it was a role-playing game for non-adventurers and children to play when they got bored. It gave us something to do other than reading books (although it involved reading character sheets and rolling dice, as well as reading the player manual to figure out how the Oblivion to play it).

She shrugged and opened the door. "I rolled a 17 on opening the door." She smiled. She looked down. "I used to play that with my dad before he died when Mehrunes Dagon invaded the Imperial City." She wasn't smiling now.

Maniel patted her on the back. "Don't worry. We'll play when we graduate."

She nodded. "That sounds like fun, actually." She smiled and walked into the building. I followed behind them, keeping my eyes open for any enemies. Now, the real fun began.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_Ah man...I remember Runes and Dwarves...I mean Dungeons and Dragons. So much fun for the... one campaign I managed to squeeze myself into. Played a ninja...yeah. It was fun. Wish I had played out of character and been a mage... ok, still in character... um...how about barbarian? No... um... I know... bard. I could have played a bard._

_Sorry, got side-tracked. More will follow soon. Have to otherwise I'll forget just what I was planning to do. Oh yeah, Crassi's finally warming up to Vatu (mostly because he saved her from becoming a Crassi-on-a-stick)_


	57. Ch 57: Graduation test part 2

**Cearbhail:** _Yes, new chapter. Sorry it's been a while. Busy with finals and all. Well, since it's been a while, thought I'd answer a question as a bonus. It finally happens and now...the story will become a little more funny. Too bad it's about to end, though. I'm sure the Rouge Shadowscale will cover up any conclusion this one doesn't have. Yes, I have decided that the Rouge Shadowscale will start immediately after the Vatu and the others graduate from their training. so, everyone's inside now. Last few chapters, and then some revising of older chapters and then...new story._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

Once we entered the building, all our talking ceased. Crassi took the front while I stayed in the middle. I don't know how we did it, but our rings had been upgraded before we marched in here. We were still invisible, but we could in fact see each other. Not to mention since Erandur taught us how to communicate telepathically, we were still able to talk to each other too.

_"Can you sense any of the prisoners?"_ Maniel asked.

Crassi looked back at us. _"No, can you?"_

I guess she was talking to me since she wouldn't expect Maniel to answer after asking. I closed my eyes and started scanning around. I could feel a bunch of energy collected at the bottom. Scanning around, I didn't notice anything beyond the ordinary other than our Daedra friends scouting around the walkway. They didn't see us yet? Where was Erandur's team anyway?

I looked at the three Daedra guards. They looked at each other for a second. They passed each other and continued patrolling the walkway. Just then, three arrows flew out of nowhere, nailing all three Daedra silently. They crumbled over and fell into the large pool of water surrounding the walkway. I looked up at the ceiling. Erandur and his team were scaling the roof of the building, using magic to keep themselves attached to the ceiling no less.

I nudged Crassi in the shoulder. When she looked over at me with her eyes raised in a question, I pointed up at the ceiling. She looked up and saw the squad of three crawling across the roof.

_"When did we become the Dark Brotherhood with all this sneaking?" _She thought in astonishment. _"I remember when battlemages charged in and blasted magic everywhere."_

I shrugged. _"Not sure. I just know this is how our team operates best. No one really gets hurt and we still get the mission completed." _I looked down at the floor of water beneath us. I could still feel the collective energies beneath us. I closed my eyes and thought about what could be under there. I opened my mind's eye and started scanning with a Detect Life spell. I saw uproars of twenty or so souls start to glow through the floor. I tapped Crassi on the shoulder. _"I can feel them underneath us. I'm sure of it."_

Crassi looked down and I saw her eyes start to turn purple. "Yes, I can see them now. Ok, how do we get down there?"

Maniel nodded to the pool_. "Anyone want to go swimming? How are your stealth swimming skills?"_

_"So, invisibly, we're going to dive into a pool and come out without dripping wet silhouettes that our enemies could see as clearly as we see ourselves?"_ Crassi asked Maniel with a slight smile forming on her lips.

I looked around. I could see the doorways that led to the pool; they came from the end of the hallway that was now clear of any combatants. _"Well, Crassi. We can either forgo stealth and compromise our mission or we can sneak our way around this place, get rid of some guards and then try to find a way down to the hostage zone."_

Crassi sighed. _"Fine, let's go stealth our way around."_

-Nisha-

Out of breath, out of strength. I could barely see in front of me anymore. Everything was blurry and my body felt like it didn't want me to continue on. I've never run this hard in my life…and I knew this was fake. But…the way she screamed at me…the way she cursed me….the way she taunted me…it felt _real_. I ran past another tree and I heard a whistling sound fly past my head. Up ahead of me and giant pillar of ice started to form off a tree.

I didn't have time or the energy to react. I ran right into the pillar of ice, shattering it with my face. I flew off my feet and landed immediately on my back. I looked around. The trees were dancing around me. Then, three Jurards stepped over my head, looking down at me with their hands on their hips.

"That looks like it hurt. Are you ok?" They asked.

"Sure, just tell me which one is real so I can blast you with something." I said as I looked at every Jurard circling over my vision. They danced around my vision, making me feel sick just looking at them. "Will you stop moving? I'm getting sick just watching you."

Jurard sighed. "You must have hit the ice harder than I thought. Just sit still and I heal your wound."

She leaned down over my head. I felt some warm magic energy enter my head. I felt the world stop spinning and the lump on my head started to go away. I looked up in the tree to see Primrose preparing a throwing dart. She threw the dart and it landed right on Jurard's neck. She instantly stood up, preparing to fight her. Then, she stopped moving as her body started glowing with a light green hue.

Primrose smiled and dropped from the tree. She pulled out a dagger and walked up to Jurard. She placed the dagger to Jurard's neck and said, "Safety kill. You're dead now, so when the spell wears off…just lie down until we're done, ok?"

Primrose stepped away from Jurard and reached down to take my hand. I took it and she pulled me up onto my feet. She smiled, "Are you ok, Nisha? Sorry I didn't help earlier, but I didn't want her spotting me until I was ready to knock her out."

I only nodded. I was still catching my breath. "That's ok, Primrose. I knew you'd help once you got the chance. By the way…what are we going to do now?" I could only guess that we were going to go in and fight.

Primrose sighed. "I promised your brother I'd look after you once they got inside. Now, we wait out here for them to come out. We're the security force now. Our instructors are crafty. I'm sure they have something planned for the doorway."

We started to make our way back to the ruin. She and I just talked about nothing at all although I could feel her real question starting to form. Finally, I turned to face her. "Ok, what do you really want to know?"

Primrose looked shocked for a second. Then she smiled. "You guys keep surprising me. So, what happened to your family? I saw some things in Vatu's mind and…I can't help but feel lost in that thought. I can't get it out of _my_ mind and I know it's going to bug me until I find out."

She stood there, eyes scrunched in worry. She looked scared of me. I closed my eyes in thought. It happened so long ago…I was so young.

-Nisha- (Five years ago)

I heard the screams coming from the street. Mommy and Daddy were still missing but I knew they'd be back soon. I looked up at my big brother, who held me close to him in his arms. It was only minutes ago that Mommy threw us downstairs in the basement. Brother locked it and waited for her to knock on it to tell us that it was safe. That was what he was told; lock it until she gave us the signal.

The basement door started to squeak and I could hear hissing from the other side of the door. Vatu pulled me back and said, "We need to hide, now."

"But Mommy and Daddy are still out there…" I said in protest.

Vatu smiled at me. "They're playing Hide and Go Seek. The ugly creatures and seeking us and we need to hide. Got it? We can't let them win." He started to pull me and then we ran into the small wooden door that only we could fit through. The door led into a slightly larger tunnel that led into a large room filled with water and food. I remembered this room. This was the best hiding spot anyone could ever hide in.

I'm not sure how long we stayed down there, but my brother assured me that we were winning the game.

-Nisha- (Now)

I shook my head. That was the worst week of my life. I survived off of breed and scrib jelly. My brother did everything he could to make sure I survived. I was thankful for him for doing that. It was a shame our parents didn't make it through. It wasn't fair. They could have come with us. They didn't need to stay outside where everything with a sword was dying.

I looked up at Primrose, who was still waiting for an answer. "They died in the Oblivion Crisis. They fought against the waves of Daedra that Mehrunes Dagon summoned. They died protecting us from them."

Primrose and I stood there for a few moments. She finally nodded. "Thanks…and I'm sorry. We should take up some security now." Her voice was shaky.

I sighed. Time for me to ask my question. It was only fair. "So, Primrose, what's your fascination with my brother anyway?" I watched for her reaction. She would betray her feelings for him, I just knew it.

She stopped and I saw her cheeks blush a bit. Gotcha now. She turned to me and said, "You… never seem to stop amazing me. Fine… I… may…have… developed…. some… certain…. feeling…. for… your…brother…."

It was taking her so long to actually say it that I groaned out in annoyance. "Oh my gods…just say it. You love him, don't you?"

Primrose stopped right where she stood. "What? No…oh no. NO, NO NO NO NO NO NO." She said, shaking her head and covering her ears. Her face was so red now that I couldn't tell if she was an Altmer or a Bosmer.

I grabbed her by the shoulder and started shaking her to get her attention. She wouldn't stop screaming in embarrassment. "It's ok, I won't tell him." I tried to say to her but she was still shaking her head.

She collapsed onto her knees. "Oh no….oh no. How…how did this happen?" Tears were streaming down her eyes.

"What? How did I find out? It was written all over your face." I said with a large grin that I thought was cute. I thought it might cheer her up.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Thanks but I meant…how come _I_ _didn't_ know?"

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>_So, all this time and Primrose never knew how she felt...sounds like everyone else I've ever met. What will really be interesting is when she decides to tell Vatu how she feels...and then maybe Nexa shows up...and then some things happen...and then a choice is made...who knows...Nexa doesn't have to be Vatu's mate to be his soulmate after all. Don't know...maybe even a female Khajiit may come into the story later... we never know until it happens. (Yes, I don't even know. Could be an Orc for all I know)_


	58. Ch 58: Graduation test part 3

**Cearbhail:**_ So, here we are. Another chapter, same thing. Vatu and his team is still stealthing around, well, they were at least until they walked into a giant collection of Daedra that they can't just walk around. Erandur's still looking for the statue, and Primrose is bored. Don't worry, next chapter...everything goes to Oblivion. Then...maybe I'll let them live. We'll see._

_Anyway, at the end of the story (the actual story, not this chapter), I'll post two prologues. One for the Rouge Shadowscale, one for...well I'm having trouble coming up with a title. I'm guessing I'll name it the Khajiit Sorcerer, but I'll see. I might think of something else. I'm not sure what I'm going on with that story yet. The main character is a character known as Panthera. Not her real name, mind you. She actually has no name... well... you'll see._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

One, two, three. Let's see. Twelve…twenty….three. Twenty three. There were twenty three Clanfear lining the hallway. They were everywhere, sniffing the air. They knew that we were here, but they couldn't see us, they couldn't sense us, and they couldn't touch us. After we got into the room, Crassi noticed the many Clanfear that patrolled the hallway. We climbed the walls as quickly and quietly as we could. Now we were hanging ten feet above the Clanfear, looking down at them while they looked around the room blindly for something I knew existed but couldn't see one trace of.

What the heck were we fighting anyway? Were we fighting necromancers like the brief stated…or were we fighting Daedra worshippers? The brief Hans gave us was that necromancers were invading this ruin to summon some monster. Oh wait…no they weren't just necromancers, they were evil magic users in general. Oh…so conjurers would be here too.

I activated the other ring on my other hand. It was a telepathic link to every team member with rings. The conversations could be individualized so private conversations between one and another could be done. Primrose had her own ring and so did Nisha. That wasn't who I wanted to talk to, though. I wanted to talk to Erandur.

He focused his mind on Erandur and formed a mental link to him. He could feel the string of his mind connecting with Erandur's_. "Erandur! We have a problem. We may have to blow our stealth. We have Clanfear…and a lot of them. If any of them squeal, we'll be knee deep in trouble and then the mission will have to go into chaotic fight."_

-Erandur-

_"I understand, Vatu. We're deep into the ruin now. Just…stay at your location for now. If they clear out, then proceed on. Have you spotted the prisoners yet?"_ I asked him. I looked down the hallway. Davilia was up ahead, looking for traps or hidden runes. Travis was taking up the rear, looking out for any other problems that might come our way.

_"We know where the prisoners are but we can't get to them with all the Clanfear in the way. I'm afraid that if we move, we'll end up getting more of their attention than we have already."_

I nodded. That made sense. So, they knew where the prisoners were….that was good. They already had their objective. I opened up a second link over to Crassi, Vatu's team leader. Instead of just talking, I pulled us all in for a private spiritual conversation.

I opened my eyes to see us standing on a small island in the middle of a large ocean. This was my mental getaway. I had a small hammock hanging from two palm trees, the only trees on my small island. Coconuts decorated the trees, a nice snack for when I was bored. Standing in front of me were Vatu and Crassi.

Crassi nodded to me. "Yes, Commander?"

I nodded to her. "Vatu's told me about your situation. Hold your position until I give you the order. I don't want Hans getting active until I know where he is. I want to be there to see if he comes after you or if he stays with us. Either way, I do not want to walk into his lair when he's ready for us. So, hold off any further assault until directed from me. Ok?"

Crassi looked over at Vatu, eyes squinting at him with accusation. Oh, he jumped the chain of command. She looked over at me. "Yes, sir. We'll hold ourselves on the ceiling until you give us the word."

I ended our mental session and found myself staring two inches away from Davilia's big red eyes. It caused me to jump back a bit.

She jumped back a little as well. _"Erandur, what happened? It was like you weren't there."_

I allowed my silent breath to come back to me. Even this close, she didn't dare talk. We were completely silent, only communicating through the rings I gave to everyone. Tracking units as well as telepathic links to everyone. Vatu carried a small bag filled with twenty of them for the prisoners we ran into as well. After all, they were going to start an organized riot that would distract everyone. They needed to be able to communicate with me. That was a problem, though. If Hans got his hands on my rings….he could find me too easily.

_"Hey, Erandur! You in there?"_ Davilia asked again. She nudged my shoulder, which sent a cold shiver over my skin and a bolt of electricity through my spine.

Even now, when we were in the middle of a mission, seeing her beautiful dark blue hair and her bright red eyes just…entranced me. I smiled. _ "I'm back, Dav. I was just getting a status report from Crassi's group. They found the prisoners and await our call to free them. So…let's find our statue so we can leave."_

Davilia and Travis both nodded. We started walking down the pathway again. Davilia was ahead of us, looking out for any magical traps; I was looking out for physical traps right behind her. No chains, nothing. The only thing out of the ordinary was the newly installed doorway that we found that led to this area. It must have been hidden the last time we were here because when we last came here, it was just the square rooms with the pathways leading around the interior of the ruin. Well that and the giant pool. Apparently there was another room under there as well. Vatu's team was sure to get creative with getting in there.

I kept glancing at Davilia, who looked so at ease with just sneaking around. I realized that it was my entire fault. Every time I wanted some scouts to go do stuff; I sent Vatu and Davilia. I trusted them more and more every day. Of course, I was using Primrose more now that I knew she existed. She never talked before the whole…Vatu mind-raid thing. Actually, I wondered how her mission was going?

-Primrose-

(Sigh)

One, two, three. Three birds just flew over us. Blue Jays too. I was resorting to starring up at the clouds while I dipped my feet in the small pool of water outside the ruin. I looked over at Nisha every once in a while. She was practicing some spells I showed her from earlier. They were healing spells, mostly, although I did show her how to freeze enemies. I think freezing enemies was better than burning them. She could easily freeze them and run away, instead of scorching their armor and only pissing them off instead.

Nisha slammed her palm against the tree again, leaving a cool mist that rolled down to the floor. I couldn't see any ice scarring just yet so I won't bother her until she gets the hang of it. I looked back up at the clouds again, bored. Erandur told me to stay out here and guard the entrance. That meant…I had nothing to do until they got out.

I looked at the clouds again. They were pretty and I was getting good at putting shapes to them. Dog, sheep, Vatu…Vatu? I looked closer at the cloud. No, it wasn't Vatu, it was a cloud that looked like a…well Khajiit, but that didn't mean it looked like Vatu.

_I know you love him… It's written all over your face!_

Those words…they kept repeating in my head. It made me think back to when I first met Vatu. I smelled something foul over the air of the academy so I went to investigate. There, sitting with a cooked rat on his lap, was the most innocent Khajiit I've ever seen. Even then I guess I liked him, even though I thought his taste buds were dead. I could see the amusement in his eyes when he shoved that rat in my face; requesting that I take a bite. Ew…I may eat my own kind, but I won't eat rat.

That was the last time I actually talked to him. I still looked for him but when I found him the next time he had already surrounded himself with new friends. One of them was Erandur…son of Ocato. That was more than enough reason for me to stay away from him. I don't do socialization with elites. I like being invisible. That's the problem, though, I was invisible to Vatu.

Then…he disappeared. I thought he ran off but then we heard that they were kidnapped. When he came back, I didn't get a chance to talk and when I did see him, he seemed so….different. Colder, more alert. Not so innocent. His friends looked just the same; colder, closer to him than I'd ever be. I just decided I wasn't going to be able to fit in with his group now. After what I heard happened to them…I wasn't a part of that experience so…I wasn't a part of their group.

Instead, I just sat in the background and focused on my Restoration training. Once the battlemages decided to leave, I for whatever reasons…signed in on the spot. I guess I wanted a way to get closer to him, I just didn't know it. Here I was, with the battlemages when I was originally training as a healer. Hans liked the fact that a healer was so eager to join the war. He needed a good healer and here I was. It was worth it. It got me close to Vatu close to the end of our training. Now, we were friends.

Of course, there was the whole "Vatu's evil" thing I went through. I didn't like that his mind was so twisted. I thought so highly of him without really knowing who he was… and his mind so was so dark and misleading that I couldn't stand being near him anymore. So, I kept my distance but fate kept throwing us back. Overall, I'm happy that fate decided it. We're good friends now…but love? I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. I love Vatu? How did I miss that?

I sat up and pulled my feet out of the water. Looking up at the sky I could see dark clouds starting to set in. This was bad. We might have to go inside after all. That lightning looked very threatening.

-Vatu-

My claw slipped and for half a second, I thought I was dead. Then my claw caught on something just underneath it and I got away with only a small noise and a pebble falling from beneath me.

The Clanfear all looked my way and looked at the pebble. The lead Clanfear clawed its way up to the pebble only feet beneath me and now…I was inches away from a Clanfear. It stopped, sniffed the rock, and then…looked up at me. I could see its nose taking in the smells now. Its eyes widened and it reared back.

I thought it was over. The Clanfear reached out and spat out a fireball. I pushed off the rock and slid across the wall. The fireball exploded just an inch away from my head but I was fine. I looked over at the Clanfear, who was still looking at the wall. It turned around and started to stalk away.

I mentally allowed myself to sigh my relief. I looked at Crassi, who looked like she was just beginning to relax as well. Then, the Clanfear turned to face the wall again.

It leaned forward and shrieked out a warning call. All the other Clanfear screeched out as well. All of them started shooting fireballs at our wall. Crassi looked at me and I heard, _"Climb up! Now!"_

I turned around and started to climb up. Fireballs pelted everywhere next to me and I felt the combined barrage start to weaken the wall's stability. I pushed forward, jumping to the top arch of the giant window below me. I looked down to see the Clanfear still pelting the wall with fireballs. I looked over at Crassi, who nodded to me and then to Maniel.

_"Vatu…what happened?"_ Maniel asked.

I shrugged. _"My claw slipped. It wasn't something I could help."_

"**What's going on here?**" A new voice sounded from the end of the hallway. Oh shab…. It was Hans! He strolled into the hallway with a large warped staff with a skeleton inbedded into the roots of the staff. He looked up at us and smiled. "Oh…I see we have more test subjects. Ok then…" He stuck out his hand and suddenly, the wall fell apart.

Crassi and I fell from the previous wall that was now nothing but dust. Maniel screamed as he jumped off and came flying down to Hans. He blasted him with a barrage of fireballs and lighting orbs as he fell. Hans just stood there and allowed the magic spells flow off his magical aura. He smiled at us and said, "Puny mages. You'll have to do better than that."

The Clanfear hissed out from behind him. Hans smiled some more. "Come pets. Lunch time."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, we're coming up on the end. Just a few more chapters; six at most. Then.. bonus chapters... YAY. =^^=_


	59. Ch 59: Graduation test part 4

**Cearbhail:**_ Man... I really loved writing this. I just...enjoyed the picture I had in my mind...the battlescene I had erupting from thoughts and down onto the page. I don't think I captured it quite as much as I intended but eh... I caught enough. Writing for Erandur's part of the story continues to grow hard...he's just stealthing around...how on Earth can I stretch that out without becoming too repetitive? And no...not by throwing in some random ogre. His story is completely stealth oriented with no real interactions. Kind of funny how he's the best character I have and he missed all the fun... I'm just funny like that._

_Anyway; liches, Daedra, and Vampire J'skar? Oh my..._

* * *

><p>-Primrose-<p>

"Nisha, stay down! Just…stay down." I said as I pulled Nisha's head back behind the pillar. This was why they wanted us to have a security force outside! This was why they told us all to not go flying into the building. Liches and Daedra! Oblivion! I had to be the one person outside who would be paired up with liches and Daedra.

Nisha looked up at me. "They were waiting for a signal. Did you hear the Clanfear howling? They must be reacting to it. We must buy the others some time. We can't let these things get in."

I nodded. I knew she was right and the liches weren't even near us yet. Our enemies were now coming out of the woods, marching up to Fanacas, while we hid under our invisible and telepathic rings. They were heading right for the door. Maybe ten liches and twenty Daedric Churls, with some scamps, and a few varying atronachs. A couple flaming ones were burning the grass behind them while the Storm Atronachs spun around like they were a tornado.

Nisha sighed. "If only we could get them to kill themselves."

I nodded. If only we could…

Got it.

I smiled as I looked over at Nisha. "You still have that oil?"

Nisha looked confused for a second but her eyes quickly sparkled with my genius plan. She pulled out her backpack and showed me the whole backpack was filled vials of oil. That was more than enough oil to do what I was planning. I reached in and grabbed four vials. Ok…and now to do this discreetly. I reached down at the grass. I did this so often, but not for this.

I focused on the roots. I visualized them rolling up all across the grass field in front of us. The liches and Daedra would be there in a few seconds. I had to do this fast. I saw the ground shift a bit and some of the roots started poking through. I don't think anyone noticed anything. I brought a root right up to me. I willed all the roots to open up, to create a whole network of tunnels. I started pouring the vials of oil into the networks of roots.

We sat back. I could feel the oil in position. Once I knew our enemies were set in place, I would sprinkle oil all over the field. They were getting close to position and I was ready to pull the trigger.

"Hey."

A voice from behind caused me to jump forward. Nisha and I jumped up to our feet. J'skar looked down at us, arms folded with a cocky fangy smile. I looked at his outfit. He was outfitted with bloodied black leather armor and his hands were filled with purple smoking palms. He grinned at us and said, "It's the night of the living undead. Feel like joining us?"

He flashed me his fangs and I realized what I was looking at. Red eyes and pointy long fangs? He was a vampire mage!

With a wave of his hand, Nisha's ring exploded into golden dust. Mine shattered seconds later. Ok…that was cool. I knew I had to learn how to do that later, but right now…

I looked over my shoulder. All the liches and Daedra had their eyes on me now. The Flame Atronachs were now flaring up.

"How sad you must feel…outnumbered, outmatched. Just surrender and offer me your neck. It will all be over before you know it." J'skar said.

I looked over my shoulder again. "Outnumbered huh?" I smiled and reached for my sword. "Maybe I should even the odds?" I triggered my trap and grabbed Nisha. I jumped forward, straight into J'skar right as I heard the oil spray up from the ground. One second later, I heard a loud fiery explosion and something warm brush right over top of me.

I landed on the ground, scrunching up into a small ball with Nisha underneath me. I had to protect her! I could feel the fiery oil start to fall on top of us, so I cast a Shield spell over top us and closed my eyes. I could still see the blazing red through my eyelids but the heat was dulled down. I could feel the drain of magic it was taking from me, though. It worked better than I could have dreamed but if it kept up, I wouldn't live to enjoy it.

-Vatu-

"Vatu! Run!" Crassi called as she turned around and ran for it. "In the water. They can't get us all if we jump in the water."

"What water?" Hans called. He flicked a small flame from his index finger, like he was flicking a fly. The small flare raced ahead of us and hit the water. The flare exploded heavily on the water, erupting it in a larger flame. A large cloud of steam rolled off the water and consumed us.

I fell to my knees, unable to breathe. It was too heavy. I couldn't breathe this steam in. It was scorching my skin. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I barely looked over at who it was. It was Crassi, arm over her eyes.

"Vatu? Is that you?" She cried out. "It burns….it burns." She whispered.

I grabbed her arm. "Yes, but it's our only way we're getting out of here. Hang on!" I was thankful I had fur now…I was liberated from the true scorching effects of the watery mist. My eyes were not spared but fortunately I spent so much time in this fort that I knew my way around even with my eyes closed and burning. I ran as fast as I could with Crassi keeping pace behind me. It didn't matter; I was blindly running for my life with the hot mist everywhere. The place was one giant pool of water and as far as I knew, Hans evaporated the whole pool. It sure felt like it.

I fell to my knees, dying for cool air to enter my lungs. I didn't get any; just more hot steamy air burning my lungs as I tried to bring real air in. I was slowly dying on hot air. I was sure I wouldn't really die but I would pass out and Hans would take that time to 'safety kill' me. I reached out with my palm. I had to cool the air.

"Vatu? I can't breathe!"

Crassi's voice was barely audible over the loud pulsing in my ears. She was a mysticism mage by trade so she wouldn't think of what I was thinking about. I made my hand-sign for frost. I had to cover us in a Frost spell. I visualized coldness surrounding us. I poured all my magicka into it. Almost instantly, I felt the air thin out. I took my first real breath and coughed out as much hot steam as I could. I almost saliva-vomited up because it felt so necessary. Crassi was coughing right beside me.

"You two are so loud I didn't even have to resort to using a detection spell to follow you." Hans called out from just inches away.

I opened my eyes. The hot steam was still surrounding us but there seemed to be a bubble where my cold Frost spell opened up a nice breathable spot to breathe fresh air. Standing right outside the bubble of cool protection was Hans. He didn't look impressed by my little efforts. I had to keep the bubble open; otherwise the hot steam would just roll back in.

"Maniel is now resting in his own land's version of Oblivion. I'll soon resurrect him to fight for me, though. You two shall join us soon enough." Hans said as he reached for that large claymore that he used so effortlessly. He lowered it down to my throat. "Safe…"

A loud explosion from out of nowhere shook the floor. The door behind me exploded and I took this time to grab Crassi's hand. I pulled her and together we jumped over the railing and over to the pool of hot bubbling water. I stuck out my hand and willed the pool to cool down. I only had a second. I hoped this worked!

I held my breath and felt the coo l water take me as we fell under. It felt enjoyable to say the least. The current pulled us under right as a giant wave of fire erupted into the main walkway. Crassi and I watched as the fire spread over the top of the water…just for a second though. It died off quickly and I swam for the top. Crassi grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

_"No! The prisoners…underneath us? You thinking what I'm thinking?"_ She smiled.

I nodded. I understood what she was thinking now. We had to hurry, I only had so much breath left.

-Erandur-

What the Oblivion was going on up above us? I reached out to call everyone but all I got was telepathic static. I could feel Vatu and Crassi but they were so preoccupied that I couldn't get one of them to commit to talking to me.

First; I felt the loud collection of screeches from the Clanfear. I was sure Vatu and his team were found out. Then, I felt a giant explosion then a giant wave of mist rolled out from the entrance. It didn't get near us but…still, that's weird. Then… to top it off.; there was a _louder_ explosion with fire…**_FIRE_**, roaring through the entranceway. It actually almost made it to us and I set up a protecting Ward spell to keep it away but it died out before he got near us. I swear…we were supposed to be stealthy but…they ruined it. They ruined it to high heavens.

I sighed and waved my team to remain stealthy. If we were lucky, the diversion would buy us some time to get the statue and back out. I waved my team back to me and we continued even deeper down the dungeon. It was boring. The explosions above us reassured me that they were fighting at least. I haven't even seen on Daedra since I stealth-killed the twenty Churls directly behind us. Yeah, we did that. Davilia is really good at summoning knives and me…well I'm a freaking assassin.

We continued down the hall, hoping to find something. Davilia was lagging behind me, looking up at the entranceway, where we could still feel the amount of magicka growing. She looked over at me. _"Do you think we should go back and help them?"_

I shook my head. _"No. We should continue on and find the statue. They knew the risk they took if they broke invisibility. If we turn around now…the entire mission will be a failure and we can't have that. The whole 'world' depends on us finding this statue. If we don't…I don't want to think about what might happen."_

Davilia sighed mentally. I knew she wanted to go back and help Vatu. Heck, I wanted to turn around and fly up that staircase with two flaming palms of glory but…we needed to complete this objective. If this were real life, my friends would have died for nothing if we didn't stop this evil summonings from taking place. The whole world would be invaded by the undead that would rise from every corner of Nirn. They wouldn't stop rising and they wouldn't stop overtaking the lands. That's what this was about; keeping it from happening. Soon it would be our jobs. If we weren't ready for our instructors…how could we handle necromancers who equaled them during the war?

Once we came to the end of our descending flight…I made everyone hold. I squinted my eyes to make sure it was real. There…right in front of us…on a pedestal with a giant beam of light just enveloping it…was the statue. No guards…no…anything. It had to be a trap.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, for all of you who know me... oil and fire is my theme. You see it all started back during the my old days in the army. I played D&D with my friends and well, my solution to every major problem was...throw a vial of oil and a flare stick. I rolled a natural 20 once and it burned my torturer, saved the damsel, and made my enemies all slip and fall on sharp utinsils while they burned to death. It was awesome. Ever since...fire and oil baby._


	60. Ch 60: Graduation test part 5

**Cearbhail:**_ Hahaha... man, I love this one so much. I decided to have some fun for once._

_Merry Christmas! Happy Winter Solstice, Season's Greetings (if you're touchy about any religious statements), and Happy Hanukkah! This is your Christmas present. I was going to save the big moment for later...but here it is! Erandur and Davilia...KISS. YAY!_

* * *

><p>-J'skar-<p>

What the Oblivion was she thinking?

Oh wait…I know what she was thinking. She was trying to hide from the liches, hoping to use her field magic to trip them up. Well, it wouldn't work. Not with me around. So, I walked up behind her and cleared my throat. Both Nisha and she jumped back, surprised to see me. Me, been working on this costume all hour. Torn up necromancer robes bathed in fake blood, long vampire fangs made from Alteration magic. Yeah, they were real. Those were my fangs, only magically manipulated to grow longer. Overbite was never a problem for any Alteration mage.

One look at me had them cowering in fear. Especially when I blasted their little invisibility rings in pixie dust. Hah! The look on Primrose's eyes when she turned around and saw for the first time everything she was up against, I swore she crapped herself. Then….she did something I did not think was possible. She smiled.

It wasn't that…"ha-ha, I'm caught" smile; it was…."bring it on" smile. I really didn't know what the heck was going on until she grabbed Nisha and dove forward. I only had a second to cover myself in a shield before the battlefield exploded behind her.

It only lasted a few seconds. But that few seconds were painful. I opened my eyes, surprised that I was only blind in one eye. That could be healed later but right now, with half my body practically on fire…I had to put out the flames. So, using as much elemental manipulation I could muster, I summoned the water from the pool. The pain in my arm distracted me and I fell to my knees. Great…I was too wounded to even manipulate water… What kind of mage was I?

I looked up to see Primrose rising from her fetal position. She stood up, standing in a strong stance with her arms crossed. Fire burned behind her and her hair floated like she was underwater. It was such a dramatic pose that I was sure she planned the whole thing. I was even more certain when she smiled. For when she did…all the Flame Atronachs behind her exploded into a fiery inferno.

-Primrose-

That went off better than planned. I was hoping it would be strong enough to take down all the liches and atronachs. I looked over my shoulder. The entire field was in a fiery blaze. Good. Nothing was still standing behind me. The liches were being cooked alive and all the Daedra were in pieces. Some pieces were on the trees, some in the lake…some in my hair. Ew..

I looked down at J'skar. He looked defeated. Half of his robes were charred and I'm guessing he wasn't just limping his left arm to be dramatic. My hand twitched and I just…felt compelled to do something. I looked at Nisha, who was completely unharmed. My mind whirled back on J'skar and I couldn't control it. I leaned in to heal him.

"Nisha…safety kill…now." I said, almost in a haze. I couldn't think enough to pull it off myself. Sure reaching for a knife seemed easy, but when your healing instinct just overtook your hands… grabbing a knife seemed so…opposite of what you're trying to accomplish.

Nisha rolled up off the floor and grabbed J'skar by the throat. "Safety kill! Ha! I killed you, Uncle J'skar!" She rolled over onto her back and exhaled. "I'm so glad we're done out here."

I didn't react. My arm was now hovering over J'skar's arm. It was so heavily burned. He didn't have enough time to cover his whole body. I would have warned him but…it didn't occur to me to save my enemy. In some ways…I think he respected that.

So, I reached over his arm and closed my eyes. I could see just how badly burned his skin was. It was blistering and starting to melt. Wow…I did some real damage here. It wasn't just his arm. It was his side, his leg, and part of his head. His entire left side must have gotten burned. It would be best if I didn't move him. There was no way I could heal all of him but at least I could heal the blisters and internal damage. His skin and fur would have to suffer for right now.

I focused the energy on relaxing his muscles while repairing all the damage they suffered. The nerves were equally important. If I didn't repair them either, he wouldn't be able to feel anything on his left side. I spent the next few minutes scanning his whole body, making sure all the organs worked just fine. The only thing I found was a massive collection of fur in his stomach…but I'm guessing that was a problem that would resolve itself in an hour. His lungs worked, his blood vessels were all repaired. Now, all that was left was his skin reproductive abilities.

His skin was difficult and… I found myself quitting before I got in too deep. Instead, I found my focus leading towards his eyes. One of them was glazed over…even though my eyes were closed I could feel the glaze. He was blind in one eye. So I reached up and felt the damage the eye suffered through. His eyelid was also burned away. That too would have to wait to be healed. With a touch of my Restoration magic, I was able to touch his very eyeball, rejuvenating the eye. I repaired all the separate parts, making the eye functional again. For some reason I couldn't get it to see but I was so tired that I couldn't continue.

I pulled away, my energy drained. This was where it always got bad. As soon as I shifted all my attention away from J'skar…I would practically pass out. So, I pulled away from J'skar…not an easy task with so much left to heal. I felt like I was a part of him now…part of his soul since I helped heal so much of it. It felt like I was pushing against a sun's gravitational pull, and it was burning me as I separated. I felt all the pain that was still haunting him as if it were happening to me.

So, I mentally cut us off and instantly…my own lights went out. My mind was so focused on this one thing and then…the one thing was gone and my mind was lost…searching for it again. Without it there, it filled with a long stabbing pain of over-concentration. My body was now coming into realization of just how exhausted it was, just how much energy I used up. My body was going into shock…and I couldn't stop it. It was like my soul stretched out and then was cut in half.

I'm not sure how long I lied on the floor. The world spun around me and my body didn't respond to my mind wishing for it to move. I'm not sure if I was breathing, lying down, or falling through the soul of Nirn. The relevance of time meant nothing to me. So, when the space around me stopped spinning and my mind started refocusing on actually what was going on…I wasn't sure how long I'd been like that.

It started with the muffled call of Nisha, who was calling my name and pushing on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and was blinded by the bright flames that still dully roared over the grassland. Nisha had enough sense to spread something over the ground…some alchemy ingredient that stopped the flames from getting near us. I sat up and suddenly, a giant collection of air and tension just expelled from my body in the form of a loud exhale. It was amazing just how exhaling made my body go from being locked up and painful to being loose and relaxed.

Nisha smiled at me and flashed me her ridiculously over-exaggerated grin. "Thanks, Primrose." Then she leaned in and hugged me. "You're the best sister I've always wanted."

I sighed and returned her hug. My arms were so shot…it hurt just to raise them up. It would totally suck if something bad were to happen right now.

"Primrose…" J'skar seemed to wheeze from his lungs. "Hide…now.."

What?

I looked over my shoulder. I didn't see anything and my rising tension started to relax back down. Then, I saw J'skar's eyes looking up at the blossoming pillows of smoke. My eyes reluctantly looked up at the sky. There I could see it…at least thirty of those nasty Aedra hovering fifty feet above us. I guess all the smoke attracted them to us. Why did they only show up at inconvenient times?

-Vatu-

Three, two, one…

I swam back away from the blast zone. Crassi followed beside me. We were still underwater and we didn't dare go back up with Hans probably still standing there with fire surrounding him. Never…approach a badass when he's surrounded by flames. It's just…never a good idea. Anyway, since we couldn't go up…we had to go down. And how do you go down when you have a giant layer of rocks underneath you? You blow it the shab up. As it turns out; we had some magical explosive stuff that seems to work underwater...something that is strong enough to blast through layers of ancient Ayleid rocks. Yeah. This was happening. Please don't ask me where we kept it this whole time…I'd rather not think about the visual I just went through when Crassi started grabbing herself.

…

…

Anyway…

Yeah. So, here we are… with explosive mushy stuff sitting on the rock. Crassi's flatter than I thought…whoa. Stop it. Anyway. Yeah, explosives….on the rack…rock, I meant rock. Since I'm the only one with actual Destruction training I was the one who had to shoot lightning at it to make it explode. If this stuff was so reactive to fire and lighting…why would she wear this stuff on her…you know what… I don't care.. I really don't.

I stuck my fingers out and prepared to destroy Crassi's only hope at attracting a fair Imperial. The lightning exploded lovely on the explosive collection. It was that odd moment where the concussion threw you back, but the vacuum of the water draining through the lower floor started pulling you down. This was our plan, though. The draining water was going to distract any surviving guards while I charged in and killed any of them while Crassi began untying the prisoners with her Mysticism magic.

I allowed the pull of the current pull me through the rather small hole that was just large enough to fit me through it…and Crassi now that she was a few sizes smaller. I landed in a crouch and opened my third eye…I mean detection spell. My comrades appeared as a blue haze while hostiles were red. I only sensed three of them. They were all Daedra. Thank Hans that I could unleash all my hatred for Daedra today.

I pushed off the wet and already flooding floor. The Daedric Churls weren't planned for me. I charged forward, grabbing one by the neck. I snapped it, grabbed his sword (since mine was missing now), and flashed up to the next Daedra. I plunged the sword right in his chest and slid on the water. My feet flew off the floor and I found myself drinking nasty century old blood infested water. Bleh! Did I mention I **_HATE_** water? Yeah…it was worse now.

I didn't have time to complain or worry, though. I rolled up from the nasty water and flashed over to the Daedra Churl…who instead of preparing to fight me was laughing at my expense of having to drink the water. So…instead of killing him, I grabbed him by the head and dragged him over to the waterfall and tilted his head back; forcing him to drink or drown. His body fidgeted for a couple moments but it stopped moving only a minute under the waterfall.

"Jeez, Vatu…that seems a little dark." Broncius said as Crassi cut his magic-reducing silver handcuffs.

I dropped the dead body. "My family was killed by these beasts. I think I can have some fun with them…since _they_ can't die."

Crassi looked over at Broncius and said, "Bron, help release the other prisoners. Then, prepare to charge up there palms-a-blazin'. Hans is up there and he isn't happy."

Broncius only sighed. "Yeah, even with all fifteen of us…there is no way we can take Hans on but…ok."

Crassi ignored him and rushed over to me with her face all red and flushing. She grabbed me by my collar and pulled me behind the waterfall. "If you ever tell anyone about what you saw….I will kill you. Got it?"

My ears lowered and I faked vomiting. "Please…I wish to forget."

She pushed me back, her face turning even brighter red. "I'm serious, Vatu.. No telling anyone." She spoke all nice and slow, just to make sure I understood her basic language skills.

I nodded and repeated her slow pace. "Khajiit understand. He will tell no one, he swears." There, even spoke in third person like most of us did. Eh…it was a dying thing nowadays.

She sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry. Anyway, let's see if we can defeat Hans so we can rub it in Erandur's face."

I smiled. You know, I did like her some of the time.

-Erandur-

What was happening?

I stepped back. Davilia stepped closer. I stepped back, she stepped twice as fast.

"Eran! Stop running!" She cried out as she ran after me.

This was what it was like for the past five minutes. She went up to scan the statue for traps…and then she grabbed it after she deemed it…trap-less. Then, her eyes glazed over and she started walking towards me. I know a Charm spell when I see one. This was definitely a Charm spell. But what type? Was it going to be an attempted assassination spell? Would I be forced to fight her?

She was still walking up on me when she grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled me in. I saw her lips puckering up and I…well…jumped back. I mean sure…I liked Davilia and I thought she was cute, but…in this state of mind, she couldn't control herself and therefore, it would have been wrong of me to take advantage of this situation.

I originally looked over at Travis for assistance, but once he saw Davilia reaching for me and then chasing me around, crying out her pet nickname for me… he just laughed and crossed his arms. "It's about time you two confronted this!" He said as he leaned against the well. "While you deal with her…I'm going to see about disenchanting this statue."

So, Travis went after the statue and I was forced to deal with an over-passionate Davilia who kept trying to grab me in places. This was not like her at all. I wish I remembered how to dispel someone but…I knew offensive magic, not dispelling magic. I should have known that this was what Hans was going to do. I bet he was watching from upstairs, laughing his head off at seeing me wrestle with Davilia.

"Um…Erandur." Travis called out.

I pushed Davilia's head back as she tried to come in for another kiss. Her arms wrapping across my body was making it hard for me to push her off but I was physically stronger than her so I was keeping us apart, even though I was growing tired. I glanced over at Travis. "Not now, Travis. Just…undo the spell."

"That's what I need to tell you." He said. He was holding the statue in his hand. His eyes looked completely normal. He sighed. "Either it was a one-time hit…or…" He shrugged. "She's faking it."

For a second, I forgot I was holding Davilia back. I looked at him. "What?" Then, I looked over at Davilia, who had a sheepish smile on her face.

She shrugged. "Sorry?" Then she leaned in real fast and planted a kiss on my cheeks. "I got tired of waiting."

I groaned. During a mission? Seriously? Only this type of stuff would happen during a mission, I'm sure. I looked at Davilia. "Ok, I get it. After we're done with this mission; we'll go and do something with each other. Ok?"

Davilia smiled and hugged me close to her. My heart stopped beating and my body locked up. Davilia was the only one who could make me this defenseless.

I heard Travis sniffle back a tear. We looked over at him and he turned around. "What? I'm not crying. Who said I was crying?" His voice was so broken up, I swear he must have been.

I smiled at Travis. "Ok, we have the statue. Let's get the heck out of here so we can end this mission." Then I looked at Davilia. "And go on our date."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Yay! Had some funny scenes in there. I thought it was funny how Davilia acted so out of character just to mess with Erandur. In all honesty, the thought running through her mind was this. "I want to approach Erandur about it but...I just get so nervous. I know...what if I act like I'm under a trance; a Charm spell? That might work. And if it doesn't well...at least it's a start."_

_Yeah, she's becoming devious. about time. Book's almost done with._


	61. Ch 61: Graduation test part 6

**Cearbhail:**_ _Sorry, sorry, sorry! I realize how long it's been, but...you'll laugh when you find out why. Ok, my laptop, it stopped working so I had to take it in to get fixed and then...I sprained my wrist on a heavy bag with a hard spot, which made it impossible to write. And then... I tried to find another computer to write on but no other computer would let me 'manage my stories' so... I litterally couldn't post anything until my laptop came back and now... it's back.__

__So... because I had to make you guys wait, I'm throwing in a bonus story once I'm finished. Ri'dato, the leader of slaves. Yeah, it's going to happen so accept it and appreciate it... eh, only if you care enough to read it. Anyway, that and the bonus chapters of the other stories and their beginnings should make up for it.__

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

"Ok, let's go over this…again." Crassi said.

We stood near the doorway that led to the hallway that was filled with what I expected to be the charred remains of Clanfear. The water was still filling the room and we were going to use the rising level of water to help us unbalance whoever might be outside the door. Right now, the water was just reaching chest level. We were waiting for it to reach neck level so it would crash down on anyone behind the door. We knew Hans was out there and he was probably waiting for us. We were not going to disappoint him.

Crassi cleared her throat and said, "We know we had some Daedra upstairs when we came down here. We are not sure if the steam cooked them or if they somehow survived it but…it is possible that we have plenty of enemies to fight. Hans is also still in the fight so…we have to count in for that as well."

Everyone nodded. I started to growl out my complaint since the water was already at _my_ neck level while it settled on everyone's chest. I hated being short, especially now.

Crassi looked over at me. "Ok, Vatu, I get it. Everyone, prepare for battle because once we crack open this door….I'm sure we're going to be fighting a war."

She kicked the door; at least I think she did. It broke into a few large pieces and instantly, the water started to pull us through.

I brought my new Daedric claymore up as I allowed the water to throw me through the portal into the hallway. I planted my feet onto the wet floor, slipping and falling forward due to the push of the current coming out. When I found my strength to stand up, I ran up to my feet, brining my claymore up expecting a war. When I looked around, I lowered my sword. Crassi looked just as crestfallen as I did.

There, kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily with blood pouring out of his mouth, was Hans the Hardy. He was up at the entrance to the ruin, sword barely in his hands. We couldn't see him that well, but from what I could see here, this wasn't part of the test. I could hear Clanfear crying and screeching outside the ruin. The sounds of explosions and louder alien shrieking instantly threw my body into a cold spiral. Aedra! Outside? But…Nisha was outside!

-Primrose- (five minutes ago)

"Primrose…hide, now!" J'skar whispered so softly that I was sure it was a mind spell.

I closed my eyes and cast a giant Soul Separation over us. I wasn't sure if it worked but when I opened my eyes, I didn't see them coming down after us.

I looked over at J'skar, still looking horrible from the explosion of oil. If only I could do the same with the Aedra. Oh wait, I could. We still had more vials of oil prepared. I could prepare the same thing and then…make it into an airborne spread and repeat the second step of what happened to the Daedra. The only upset would be that we wouldn't escape this time. I was too exhausted to do anything else, Nisha was untrained in Restoration Ward magic, and J'skar was closer to death than I would ever hope to be.

I looked at J'skar. "I can kill them, J'skar, but…it will kill us too."

J'skar only shook his head. "What is your plan?" His voice rasped like charcoal rubbed against gravel.

I picked up Nisha's backpack. "We have oil, sir. I can use the wind to spread it up around them and then…cook them with fire. That kills them, right?"

Nisha nodded. She was looking up at the now assembled warriors. "Yeah…it'll kill them."

I looked back at J'skar. He was nodding his head. "Go ahead, get it prepared."

I took two vials, leaving four remaining. I grabbed Nisha's backpack and threw it through the doorway just behind us. I wanted to make sure the others had some remaining vials of oil in case more of them started to come by. There were always more but at least I would take a few with me today.

"Hurry. We don't want our friends to come out here to die with us." J'skar said with a growing quiet voice. He sounded like he was ready to die.

He was ready to die, but I sure wasn't. We didn't have much time and to be honest, I was so tired that once I did this, I would be spent. There would be no more strength inside me to continue on. This was a good place as any to live my final last seconds. Too bad I was still fighting my now growing shaky hands while I grabbed the vials of oil. It felt like my hands were robotically trying to pull the tops of the vials off while the realization that this was the end kept pushing on me. Tears were rolling down my cheeks in a river that collected on my lap, but I was committed to doing this.

I finally snapped the tops off and everything seemed like a dream sequence. In a haze, I manipulated the oil and pulled it from the vial. I willed it to spread up into the air, surrounding everything. I had to be careful, if I did this wrong at all, it would spark too early and we would be the only things to die. I had to make sure that the Daedra died too.

I looked up at them. They still stood there, motionless. They were probably scanning for any of us to show ourselves. I would and then…they would come right into my trap and we'd all die together. That was the beauty of my plan. I was going to use the existing flames to ignite another explosion of fiery mist that would cook us all. We wouldn't escape, mostly because hot flaming oil would drip down onto us and with barely any magic available, we wouldn't be able to hold it off forever.

The mist was in place and I allowed the Soul Separation to drop. The Aedra all looked down at us with their blind eyes wrapped with orange wraps. I could feel them looking through me, judging me as a person. The leader of them was the first to begin its descent down to us. It had that look of a commander coming down to personally see to the death of his enemies. Well, he was partially correct.

These were the final seconds of my life and I chose it to think about what was going to happen next. I wish Nisha could get away but there was nowhere she could run. The entranceway was buried with some of the Ayleid stonework when the explosion ripped through the entranceway, making it weak enough to collapse on itself. Not to mention, if she did run, half of them would probably go after her and then none of these bastards would die. No, Nisha was curling up in my lap, head buried into my robes, crying softly. She knew this was the end as well.

So, instead of planning and escape route or wounding myself up for a fight, I found myself thinking about what brought me to this place. I wasn't originally a battlemage. I was a healer. I followed Vatu here because there was something about him that I liked. That and Han's inspiring speech made me feel empowered to fight. Here I was, about to prove I was a battlemage. I was going to use my own life to kill our enemies. You couldn't get a better honor, I guess.

I closed my eyes and prepared to trigger my trap. I allowed myself to take a deep breath and then…I….

…

-J'skar-

I had to do it. I looked down at the now knocked out Primrose resting in my lap. She was going to kill herself just to save her friends. It was a very honorable thing to do, but I wasn't going to let her or Nisha die today. I had enough strength left to do this.

I stuck my hand out and blasted the rocks away with a palm filled with lightning. There was no way to close this a second time…so I had to do this right the first time.

I grabbed Primrose and threw her through the entranceway to the ruin. Nisha looked over at me with tear-stricken eyes that were filled with confusion. I grabbed her as well. "What is the rule of the Khajiit War Survival Creed?"

Nisha looked confused for a second. Then realization dawned on her face. "The elders will sacrifice themselves to allow the younger to survive. They are the next generation and the survival of the race depends on the young growing old."

I nodded. "That is right and now…this old cat needs to make sure the young cubs live long enough to see the end of this war to rebuild this country."

I pinched her neck and she passed out just as quickly as Primrose had. I tossed her into the doorway and stood up. I turned to face the Aedra coming down to meet me.

Primrose was starting to come to already. She started to struggle to her feet and she was slowly crawling her way to the doorway. I stuck my palm out and created one last Ward. It covered the whole door. It was strong enough to hold anything Primrose's trap could throw at it.

Primrose stood up and started knocking against the door, screaming my name. I turned to face her and I smiled. "Tell Vatu and Nisha that I will miss them."

This was it. I had a full life and ever since I stood in the fiery wreckage of the Bravil Mages Guild, I was plagued with dreams of my friends. Their faces were burned into my brain. Their twisted expressions of pain or regret were burned into my very soul. It was time I joined them and I couldn't think of a better way to go than this.

The Aedra stuck out its palm and instantly, I felt an impact on my right shoulder. I knew this spell, it was a Restoration spell. It actually turned my own energy into a knot and caused it to explode inside the body. I knew how to reverse this very spell, too bad it was already too late for me.

I buckled at his hit. I took a knee, coughing up some blood. I did this on purpose. Now, all the other Aedra were floating down to finish me off. Their leader had struck the first blow, now they would finish me off. Once they got close enough, I pushed myself onto my feet. I ignited both palms in fire Destruction magic. I smirked at the leader, flashing him my teeth. "Hey, ugly! Bet you didn't see this coming."

I stuck up my palms and blasted away. Instantly, I felt a force so powerful that it threw me off my feet. I was hammered against the ground and I could feel the heat coming down onto me. I opened my eyes to see it for myself. The Aedra were right in the middle of it; the leader included. They were burning away and the river of fire was now falling down onto me.

I closed my eyes. Sure…this wasn't how I wanted to go. I wanted a mate, maybe some cubs, grow old and complain that things were too easy these days and that the children had it easy because they had no enemies to fight since all the wars were over and how I had to walk through the ashes of my foes just to get to school every day. Too bad I wouldn't get that chance now. It's funny how life can change because of one decision. Well…at least I made things easier for Vatu and Nisha. They at least had a chance, they at least could have the life I wanted.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, coming up on the end. And yes, before you jump to conclusions, J'skar is DEAD. Not alive, not barely scraping through at the last second... he is dead. Gone, not coming back. No, I have nothing against him but since I was lost for a couple weeks without a posted chapter, I felt you all deserved a good main character death to cry over...if you cared enough about it, that is. I don't know how emotionally attached any of you are to the characters, but it killed me inside to kill J'skar. Anyway, there you are._


	62. Ch 62: Graduation test part 7

**Cearbhail:**_ _Ok, back onto a normal track now. Got a three day weekend so... plenty of writing to be done. I should be done with this story by monday, maybe not with the bonus chapters but the real story should be done. Can you believe it? Wow... a whole story completed and my first long one too. Sure, I've done other stories that reach over 200 pages but this is something else entirely. Anyway, this entire chapter is all about Primrose and her POV during the death of J'skar and not to mention what happened after it.__

__This is still before Vatu saw Hans bleeding by the doorway so... just think what might have gone wrong when you reach the end of this chapter.__

* * *

><p>-Primrose-<p>

I took a deep breath. My lungs cried out in pain as I drew my first waking breath. I sat up as quickly as I could but…my entire body just cried out in more pain as I realized that…I wasn't outside. I was in a safe zone, out of combat. My body recognized this and all the pain I just kept locked up let go.

Once I realized I was inside the ruin, I crawled to my feet. My arms could barely hold me up, my legs shook so bad that I was sure I wouldn't be able to stand any time soon. In fact; why was I even awake right now? I looked up at the doorway. Standing on the other end was J'skar with a proud smile on his face.

Just like that…everything returned to me. I was going to kill myself to save my friends and then…I blacked out. J'skar must have knocked me out. Why would he do that unless…

…

He was planning on doing my job for me!

I pushed myself onto my feet; ignoring the gnawing pain in my thighs and shins. I wobbled and I almost fell back down, which I did fall onto my knee the first attempt. I ran up to the doorway, hoping to grab him and bring him in with me while triggering my trap at the same time. I was sure we could all survive this if I did this right. We all had to survive…we just had to!

I came up to the doorway and J'skar held out his hand. It looked like it was a warning; to keep me from coming any closer. With a flick of his fingers, a bright white wall appeared in front of me. It was a Ward! This was the same spell I threw out of my original plan because I thought we were all too exhausted to create one. And J'skar had enough strength to summon one the whole time? That bastard! If he told me that, I could have adapted my plan to use that to our advantage.

I banged my fist on the white wall of Restoration magic. It was solid. J'skar was indeed a powerful mage to handle so much damage and still stand up and create a Ward spell this powerful. I banged on the door again; which only caused J'skar to smile down at me.

"Tell Vatu and Nisha that I will miss them."

That was all he said to me. It was all that needed to be said, I guess. He turned around and looked up at the lead Aedra. I took a look at him as well. He was different than the others. While the other Aedra wore orange and black robes, this one wore orange and sparkling white robes.

The Aedra raised his hand and I saw J'skar buckle like he was hit with an arrow. He reached for his shoulder and grasped at nothing.

J'skar looked back at me as he fell to his knees. _"Primrose! It used a Restoration spell that takes your energy and makes it explode! You, as a healer, know how to defeat that so find a way to use that spell against them. Got it?"_

I nodded to him. Yeah, I knew how to deflect Restoration energy attacks. Then, it clicked. Once I realized that they were using Restoration spells, the way I looked at the Aedra changed.

I could see the chain of energy that surrounded them. It was tainted Restoration magic; holy magic that was severed at its source and filled with darkness in its place. These were worse than Daedra. At least Daedra fought with a passionate purpose of serving their lords; whether that meant killing us like during the Oblivion Crisis. These were pure creatures of destruction with no guidance or master to serve. And they've decided to exterminate us as a way of justifying their creation.

Just realizing how their minds worked and how their energy worked made me shudder underneath them even more. There was no stopping them. They weren't in a hurry and they were more studying us and how far we would go to survive, but they were going to kill us all eventually. They found us entertaining; how we kept trying to survive even though we were outnumbered and overpowered. It scared me to the core.

My eyes drifted back down to J'skar, who was now coughing up blood. My hand started twitching and I wanted to break this Ward to go help him but…once I broke the ward I wouldn't be able to reset it. Once that fire bomb went off, it would kill everyone inside this building as well as outside it. I was better off keeping the Ward up. So, I settled for banging on the wall again, calling J'skar's name. I knew it was useless. I already knew he was just as committed as I was a minute ago. He stood up and his palms lit up with fire. This was it…

He stuck his palms up and I could feel the force of the blast from where I stood. A bright orange and green light filled my vision and I threw my hands in front of me to shield my eyes from the now brilliant light. It lasted only a few seconds but then it died down. J'skar's ward did its job and held up all explosion long. As soon as the fire died down, the ward dropped and I ran outside to see about healing J'skar, even if it meant my life.

Fiery flakes of oil rained down from the sky but I was too busy trying to reach J'skar. I know my skin and my hair suffered some damage, though. Not too much that made it so that I couldn't handle it, but enough to catch my attention.

I raced through the fiery ground, holding back tears of pain. The ground was hot, the air floating up to my face was hotter and just keeping my eyes open to see where I was going was proving to be a challenge all its own. Opening my eyes was nothing more than a hot searing pain that was caused from the hot almost boiling air. I could barely see where I was going but I knew J'skar's body was nearby. I could still feel his energy signature, whatever was left of it at least.

I crouched down next to what was left of an energy signature. I knew it was J'skar's. The hot ground was already starting to cool off even though tiny flakes of burning oil continued to drizzle from the sky. I forced my eyes open and looked down. There, lying on the ground, was a charred skeleton with an oil-stained dagger lying beside him. This was what was left of J'skar…a blackened skeleton with chunks of carbonized muscle still clinging onto some of his bones.

I reached out with my hands; hoping that my healer instinct would kick in and heal him like it did before. I ran my hand over his skeleton's aura and felt…nothing. Tears started pouring from my eyes. I couldn't save him! It…it wasn't fair. Didn't we lose enough as it was? How many more people were we going to lose in this shabla war?

I sat there long enough to lose track of time. My hair was slightly singed and my legs were slightly burned from sitting on what was burning oil or some of it at least. Those burns meant nothing to me, though. I could heal those in seconds.

I felt a hand tap me on the shoulder. It rested there and honestly, I didn't care who it was right now. I could have been Vatu, Erandur, Davilia, or even someone evil like Mannimarco. I just didn't care. All that mattered was that someone traded my life for theirs and the least I could do was sit here for a while to honor them.

"You did well, Primrose. Rest."

That was Han's voice. Well, I bet the next words were going to be 'safety kill'. Instead, he only joined me on the ground.

He looked at J'skar's body and sighed. "May your soul rest in peace, brother." Then he looked over at me. "Primrose, you should get some rest now. I can only begin to imagine what you must be going through."

I sort of laughed which was ironic because I felt crushed inside. "We're still on a training mission and technically, I should try to kill you now."

Hans nodded his head. "Mission's over. Erandur got the statue. I was hoping he'd screw up and send everyone on the rescue mission so I could get you all in one try…but he seems to of outwitted me."

Hans stood up. "Oh, by the way; we have a scald victim you need to heal at your earliest convenience. Maybe you can get Davilia to help you out some."

Hans stood up and began to leave. Then…a loud screak broke through the sky. My eyes drifted up to the sky. There, circling above us…was a whole army of those cursed Aedra. Lightning clouds roared beside them, lighting crackling; displaying the many of hundreds of robed flying creatures circling above us.

Hans unsheathed his giant claymore. "NO! Not now!" He pulled out an amulet and rubbed it. "Calling all support teams! This is Commander Hans calling all support teams. Aedra, hundreds! Here at Fanacas. We need support, now!"

Just as he finished his call-out, the Aedra screamed out a giant war cry; one that made my head feel like it was splitting in half. They dove from the sky like phantoms coming down to collect our souls. At that very second, I believed that they would too. There were hundreds and we had to kill one of our own just to kill a team of twenty. This was five to six times larger. Would we have to kill seven more of our guys just to reproduce the same result?

Hans grabbed me by the arms and hauled me up. "Go get Erandur and the others! Tell them it's fighting time. I expect that we will have some help soon…"

As soon as he finished his sentence, I felt the ground rip open. Hundreds of holes opened up and I heard hissing pour from the ground. Coming up from the holes were Clanfear. They were everywhere. Some of the Clanfear hissed something and portals started opening up. Atronachs of all three elements started climbing out with Daedra Churls and Scamps following behind them.

I looked down at the battlefield. This was it. This was our battle. This was our one chance to get this right. If we won here, we could do it again and again, maybe even get rid of them all. There was hope and I was staring right at it; in the form of a giant cloaked skeleton standing in front of us. It was that leader of the liches. I don't know where he came from but he was here, standing in front of me. I looked around and saw that more liches had shown up now, all dressed in black cloaks.

The Lich King looked down at J'skar's body. He snapped his bony fingers. "Bring me a robe, quick."

One of his lackeys pulled a black robe out and handed it to the Lich King. The king bent down and placed the robe over J'skar's body. He then pulled out a black soul gem and slid it into J'skar's skull.

I stepped forward to stop him but Hans was already sticking his arm out to stop me. "Let him do this."

"But…" I said. They were desecrating my friend's body!

"From ashes to ashes, from realm to realm, from soul to soul, from form to form." The Lich King said as he waved his hand around J'skar's head. "I command you now, take your new form and live again."

J'skar's skeleton shook like someone shocked him with lightning. The skull started fidgeting around and then, it rose up. It looked up at the sky and somehow, even though it was nothing but bones, I swore I could see a grin growing on his face.

J'skar's body rose up. "Really? I get to fight again? I feel so powerful…I think I might enjoy this a little too much."

The Lich King bowed to him. "Now you understand why we chose to be this way. Now show us what a Khajiit Lich can do."

J'skar nodded. "I think I will."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So...J'skar is back, kinda. Anyway, next chapter should be fun but I might pull a Buffy on you and show you an insignificant scene while this battle plays in the background. Eh... I wouldn't do that, not so close to the end._


	63. Bonus Chapter: J'skar's Afterlife

**Cearbhail:**_ Yes! This is a bonus chapter, but NO that does not mean that the story is over. I know I said that the bonus chapters would follow the end of the main story but... this is a special bonus chapter. It is what happened for the couple minutes that J'skar was dead. Get a little of his past covered and some of what his version of paradise is like. We're getting right back to the story right after this, back to chapter 63 part 8. Anway, enjoy._

* * *

><p>-J'skar-<p>

The last memory I had…was a giant inferno falling down upon me. I was relieved that my time had finally come. Every Khajiit eventually wonders when they will get to hunt in the Great Grassland. It was the final resting place of every Khajiit. When they die, they travel to their individual tribe and hunt in the name of Senche, or great leader.

In the final seconds, of the hot fire coming toward me, I could hear chanting. _"Huxa'xishu luon'aru va, J'skar. Khueg droza hinn'xiwe khue."_

The voices sounded comforting, welcoming. It felt great to hear Khajiiti again. I could already see my parents' faces. They were shielding me from what was coming to meet me. One second of hot searing pain later, I felt free.

"J'skar, open your eyes."

I heard the soft voice of my mother. Long had I wanted to hear that voice. The last time I heard it, I was a small cub living in Cheydinhal. The guard captain, Ulrich Leland, was a foul man who used my family for his criminal activities. He knew my parents were in the Thieves Guild and forced them to work on collecting him gold and valuable trinkets in return for not taking them to jail.

One morning, my father was caught stealing something in Bravil and was killed on the spot. My mother, not much of a thief, tried to support me the way she knew best, by selling all the stolen goods that my father brought home from his raids. When Ulrich found out that my mother had sold all the stolen goods that were supposed to go to Ulrich, he got mad and broke into our house. My mother tried to get away but he slit her throat and slashed me too. I survived, barely.

I woke up in the Cheydinhal Mages Guild. A young Argonian, Deetsan, found me bleeding in my house and brought me over to the Mages Guild. She requested that one of the mage healers heal me. The healer healed me nicely, so when I woke up, I woke up to a smiling Argonian. She stuck her arm out and introduced herself and I found myself sticking out my own arm, although it caused a soaring wave of pain through my body.

Deetsan stuck her arm out and protested to me moving, saying that I had lost a lot of blood and was almost on the verge of death. She asked me how I got in the state I was so I told her about the guard captain and everything that had happened. Deetsan nodded and said that I couldn't stay in the town. If he could kill me once, he would do it again. That night, Deetsan and I both snuck out of the town. That night, we spent it under the stars. We were both young so we didn't do anything other than talk about our dreams. Deetsan wanted to be a mage, much like the healer that healed me. I nodded and said that I wanted to be away from the Thieves Guild and do something meaningful. That night, under a falling star, we made a promise to become mages.

We spent years practicing spells under the protection of the Bravil Mages Guild. Deetsan's aunt, Kud-Ei, took us in and started teaching us everything we needed to know about being guild mages. After four years of training, the two of us were legally old enough to sign into the mages Guild as full mages. I was no older than Vatu was when I became a mage. When that day came, Deetsan and I got our assigned guilds. She was bound back for Cheydinhal, I was moving to Bruma. I wanted to go to Cheydinhal, but with my past history, I couldn't risk it. The two of us said goodbye and from then on, I was…bored.

We still met on occasion to catch up. One day she told me about how Ulrich lost his guard position. She had actually talked to a Dunmer woman about the condition of the town. The town was going downhill so the two of them plotted the demise of Ulrich. Deetsan had actually poisoned his potion. He was well known for 'acquiring' Mage Guild goods from Falcar. Once Deetsan and a mage apprentice teamed up and exposed his little secret of being a necromancer, she became the Guild Stewart. She then gave him a poisoned Health potion once he came in from being bitten from a 'farm rat'. He drank it on the spot and fell into a deep state of semi-consciousness. Then, Deetsan attempted to take him back to the barracks but ended up accidentally pushing him down the guild's well.

I laughed when I heard about all of this and she said that it was safe to come back to Cheydinhal. This was after the Bruma Mages Guild incident and I was left guildless, but being offered a job at the Arcane University as a teacher was too good to pass up. I had to refuse her offer but we still met up on plenty of occasions to drink tea and discuss our possible future.

"Son, open your eyes."

Opening my eyes, I could see my mother's face. It hadn't changed one bit. I looked down at my paws. They were still the same as always. I hadn't grown younger. Everyone here was young. No one looked old but at our prime, excluding the cubs running around. I stood up and looked around. We were back in the pride lands. The golden grass that came up to our knees, beautiful leather tents, a beautiful rock hill that we used for sunbathing. It was so beautiful. I felt like I was home.

My mother hugged me. "I'm happy to see you again, but…I wish I wouldn't see you for a long time. It is only natural to hope that you would live a full life.

Dad walked up and grabbed my arm in a Khajiiti warrior handshake. "Nice to see you, son. I see you've become a mage. Died in a glorious battle too. You've been selected to be a warrior for our pride's raiding party. Alkosh is coming to our pride land to conduct a raid on the Argonian marsh lands."

I stood there, shocked. Alkosh? What? How? I mean, sure he existed and he was our version of our greatest God, but… here with us? That was just the best thing I could have hoped for.

He grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me forward. "Come, he is right up here. We've been waiting for you to come as he said you would be. This is your welcoming raid. We're going to go attack the marsh lands and capture a few Argonians. It will be a lot of fun."

I nodded. This would be a lot of fun. I never guessed that even in death that we would track down Argonians and fight them. How would this work? Since we were already dead, would fighting to the death…kill us or something? Or would the other person just pass out until their body healed? This was too much to think about, I was sure that I would find out soon enough.

I looked over at Dad and said, "So, what are we going to do with these Argonians once we have them?"

He smiled. "We're only doing this because they captured some of our Senche. If we manage to capture some of their friends and family, they will be willing to trade with us."

I shrugged. "Why not just take back our Senche?"

My Dad laughed at my suggestion. "That would be like turning the other cheek. Oh, you pushed us down? That's ok, we'll just stand back up. No, we're going to stand up and push them back down. Besides, there is a chance that they may have eaten our Senche, so…we may get some permanent servants to help around here."

I shook my head. His analogy needed some work. "Dad, isn't standing up just…living with a few less Senche?"

He looked shocked. "How domesticated are you? No, letting them get away with stealing our Senche is like staying on the ground while they laugh at us. No, standing up would be us acting on them pushing us. Hence, stealing back what they stole. But no, we're going one step further; we're stealing something of theirs. We could steal our Senche and some prisoners, but that would make us worse than them. We only want to even the score, so…we're taking some prisoners."

Dad nudged me forward. We had traveled across the whole camp and were on the outskirts leading to the grasslands. He pointed forward at the assembly of warriors. He pointed to the one in the middle and said, "That's Alkosh."

I took a good look and instantly, the world froze. There stood a tall Khajiit with golden, literally golden, fur with black stripes so dark that they felt like darkness itself. The way his fur glowed with an everlasting light only to be swallowed by the darkness of his stripes, made balance itself seemed untouchable by him. When Alkosh turned to look at me, I could see his eyes. They shone with the ferocity of the sun but the subtlety of the moons. They stuck me to the core and I felt his presence burning within me. This was the Great Senche everyone talked about; the Great Alkosh. He was our general, our commander. And by Senche, I don't mean our mounts, I mean his nickname. The Great Senche; a Khajiit so fast and so strong that he could charge through Aldmeri slavers with no problem.

Alkosh walked up to me, the party of Khajiits behind him. He stuck out his arm for a warrior handshake. I took his arm in reply and held it there for a few seconds. I bowed my head. "It is an honor, Great Alkosh."

He nodded. "I'm sure it is. Come, there are some new Argonians coming today. We are going to take their new arrivals and settle an important matter." He turned around and charged off for the woods. The Khajiit hunters took off after him.

I took off, watching as my Dad followed behind me. This was the greatest day of my life. I was hunting with the Alkosh, charging into battle with him. This was an honor that any Khajiit would die for and… I did die for it.

We ran for what seemed like hours. My lungs held no real air so I was never winded, my legs were a concept so they felt so exhaustion. I ran so fast that everything was a blur. This was what being alive was supposed to feel like, and I felt it ever so much now that I was dead.

After hours of sprinting at unknowable speeds, we finally made it to the marshlands. Alkosh lowered himself down and just like that, his entire form changed from a bright golden cat to a dull gray panther-face. I was amazed at how his body adapted to stealth when it needed to. I lowered myself to the ground and silently slid over to meet him. The rest of the hunters lowered themselves to the grass, practically disappearing into the knee-deep golden grass that flowed below us. We were golden cats melting in the golden grass.

I caught up with Alkosh and he waved me forward. I slowly crawled up, using only my claws to drag me forward while the rest of my body glided ever so silently behind. He looked back at me and said, "Up ahead are the marshlands. We are here for three Argonians to trade for our three missing Senche. The new arrivals will be sleeping under the Hist up ahead. Ready?"

I nodded. Yeah, I was ready. If this was how the rest of my eternity was going to be spent, I couldn't have picked a better way to spend it.

Alkosh rose up from the grass, his fur glowing bright and golden again. He charged into the woods and we all followed behind him. My feet sunk into the deep muddy waters of the swamp but it was something I was used to. Running through Black Marsh with Nisha was hard enough, but now it felt easy. I could already see Argonians resting under the Hist tree up ahead. I unsheathed my claws. It was time to take some prisoners.

I charged in, grabbing one by their neck. It opened its eyes and let out a giant shriek of alarm. The tree behind him started to move. One of its branches flew out and smacked me away. I found myself flying into the muddy water, face pounding from being hit. So, pain did exist here. Interesting. I rose up from the water and looked around. Many more Argonians were now dropping from the trees, coming to fight us. I charged back into the battle and started slashing Argonians. Behind me, our hunters were gathering three knocked out bodies and retreating away.

Alkosh roared and the entire ground shook. Every Argonian became covered in a red mist and they turned around. They ran off as fast as they could. The Khajiit Voice of Fear was one to run from. Once every Argonian was gone, Alkosh turned to face the remainder of us.

"Let us be gone from here. We have what we came for." Then, he started to walk back to camp. I followed behind him and next to my father. It was a quicker walk back than the run that took us there. The whole dynamics of this place continued to confuse me. Either that or we walked for so long that I lost track of time and it just seemed shorter. I don't really know.

All I knew was that when I arrived back at camp, I was welcomed as a hero. My mother threw her arms around me in a deep hug. "Welcome back, warrior. Would you like to see our new prisoners?"

I nodded. Yeah, I did want to see who we captured. If we were lucky, maybe we would have captured someone influential, like an old queen. I followed my mother and Alkosh into a small cave underneath our bathing rock. We walked down a slightly long tunnel into a large well-lit room. There, tied up were three Argonians. Two faces seemed foreign to me, the third...seemed familiar. Walking up, I could see that it was Deetsan.

I stopped in my tracks. I captured my old friend? I started to back away, but her eyes locked onto mine. The world stopped around me and I found myself lost in her confused and hurt eyes. I felt my heart plummet to the bottom of my stomach. I was quite a tool.

"J'skar? What happened? Why am I here?" She asked me, her voice slightly frightened.

I swallowed. How could I answer her? I finally found my voice by saying, "I'm sorry, Deetsan, but you've been captured as a bargaining piece to get our Senche back." My voice sounded small and insignificant.

Alkosh walked up behind me and placed his hand around my shoulder. "I can feel the pain this causes you, J'skar. Do not worry; no pain will come to them. I'm certain that a bargain will be struck soon." He turned to face the Argonians. "You will remain down here until a settlement can be made. Please remain calm."

I still felt bad for capturing Deetsan but the thought that she was here made me feel better than I could have given it credit for. She must have died moments before we rushed in to capture Argonians. I wonder if she was killed by Aedra like I was. I was certain to find out soon. I had plenty of time to catch up with her now.

I smiled as soon as I figured out that I could talk to her. I stepped forward to say something but I felt something pull on me. The cave started to black out and the last thing I could see was Alkosh and Deetsan looking at me as they vanished away. The world pulled and twisted me until I felt myself recollecting.

I opened my…eyes? Did I have those? It felt like I did, but it didn't seem the same. I felt the ground with my hands but felt…nothing but still force where the ground was. Was this natural? I couldn't remember. I looked down at my claws, seeing only bones. I bent my fingers and saw them react like they normally did. I was a skeleton with a black robe on. That meant…I was a lich. I looked up at the assembly of liches standing around me. I looked to my right to see Hans and Primrose looking down at me. Primrose looked shocked and slightly pitied at seeing me. Hans seemed slightly happy to see me back on my feet again. His look told me one thing; welcome back to the fight.

I looked up and saw the hundreds of Aedra circling above us. My sacrifice had been in vain. There were more now than ever. This was why I was brought back. This was my fight and I would see it through to the end. I smiled. "Really? I get to fight again?" I crunched my hands. I could feel all the knowledge of magic, every ounce of spell lore ever known flowing through my fingertips. Not to mention, I felt one with Nirn. So, this is what it felt like to be a lich. I could grow to like this. "I feel so powerful…I think I might enjoy this a little too much." That was what I said, but inside I still longed to be back home with Deetsan. After this battle, I was going to retire for good. One last battle.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ So, J'skar was more than happy to be dead, but he still has a purpose and a reason to stay alive. He will remain alive until the last battle. One last sacrifice._


	64. Ch 64: Final Battle part 1

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, we're almost caught up with where the story backtracked. Remember, all this happened in the present. You remember, where Vatu broke through the door and saw a bleeding defeated Hans kneeling at the doorway? Yeah, it finally catches up with that moment. Amazing how much can happen in only five minutes, huh? Anyway, we're getting back on track and to begin the final battle of the story. And then, bonus and introductory chapters for the following stories._

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><p>-Hans-<p>

I had to let them do it. I couldn't handle this many Aedra by myself and we needed to even the sides. There were only twenty or so liches and they were equally as strong as regular Aedra soldiers. They might prove a harder match for the Aedra than say I would. I could stand back here and do my job; protect my students.

I shook my head. What was I talking about? These weren't students…they were battlemages…no, they were students, children. What was I doing? I was training kids for a war!

I looked down at Primrose, who looked ready to give up. I remembered how this whole thing started; collecting three kidnapped mages. That was a nightmare, but then I had to do something even worse. I took them years earlier than the academy accepted. Children weren't supposed to experience war, not like this at least. I had to consume a lot of alcohol the day I agreed to do this. I don't think I would have continued with this course of training if I hadn't been completely done over first. It was border of a war crime. You didn't take children and put them on the frontlines, no matter the conditions.

Yet, here we were. Hundreds of Aedra circling above us and I am the only one capable of fighting. I don't know what happened to Iver or Jurard but they had to be close. Jurard was probably out in the woods.

"Sir!"

I turned around and saw Erandur running up with his team behind him. They stopped to show me their little prize and then saw the carnage crawling out of the ground.

Erandur bowed to me. "What are our orders, sir?"

Orders? Of course he would think that he would be entering this battle. Did I want to do that, though? Did I really want to risk the lives of these children to fight this one fight? Was it my right to make them fight? Back home in Skyrim, we were pretty liberal on the whole children fighting thing but we still wouldn't let them join us in wars until they were the appropriate age.

"Sir, orders?" He asked again. He was looking up at the sky, his eyes filled with a quiet passion.

I looked over at Davilia and Travis. Their eyes betrayed their fear. They didn't want to go into the battle. Looking down at Primrose and the still unconscious Nisha…I noticed that they didn't have any plans of getting up to fight either. So, an army of Daedra and twenty liches against near 100 Aedra energy blasters. Was that enough of a good edge?

"Sir?" He asked again.

I sighed in contempt. I looked him evenly and said, "That depends on you. If you want to fight then go do so."

I turned around and grabbed my giant claymore. I would fight and I would win. It was my job to look over them. They were my responsibility.

"Sir, we are your team! You trained us for this. We volunteered to fight and we will fight." Erandur said as he walked up beside me, unsheathing his two katanas. Davilia and Travis followed right behind him. "Sir, if we didn't want to fight we wouldn't have agreed to this month of oblivion. We are right where we want to be." He said as he gave me a reassuring look.

I finally nodded. "Ok then." I said as I started looking at them. "Davilia, I want you to get Primrose back up on her feet. She's been through a lot the past few minutes and we need our healer back up." I looked over at Erandur. "Erandur, Nisha has a backpack filled with oil. Grab whatever is left of it and consult your forces on what we need to do with it." Then I looked over at Travis. "Travis, I need you to do the most important task. Go find Jurard and Iver. Iver should be somewhere inside the temple, but Jurard could be anywhere."

Primrose stood up and said, "Jurard is in the woods, just over there." She pointed with a shaky finger, while Davilia started healing her with her Restoration training.

I stepped outside and joined the massive waves of Daedra and liches. No one had moved an inch since leaving their portals. There were hundreds of Clanfear, Churls, and Scamps. This was an army to be feared if I ever saw one. I looked up at the sky, seeing those light blue bastards circling over us within a dark cloud illuminated by lightning claps. I wondered how long it would be before.

"Incoming!" The lich king called. I looked up again to see white orbs of Restoration magic falling down upon us.

"Use an Absorbing Ward Spell!" Primrose called from the doorway. "It absorbs Restoration magic and transforms it into will power."

That was good for me to know, but it didn't help all the Clanfear now being bombarded by the now exploding orbs of white magic. It was like rain of death. As soon as it started, everyone started moving chaotically. A Churl bumped into me by mistake and knocked us both over. He tried to get back up but then a white orb crashed into him and his face twisted in pain. His body fell back down on top of me. Ok, he was dead. Predictable.

I pushed him off of me and rose back up. I willed Mysticism magic into my feet and activated my Levitation spell. I pushed of the ground as hard as I could and soared up into the sky. Within seconds of me arriving to the clouds, I felt a barrage of Restoration magic surround me. I summoned a large bubble of Absorbing Ward spell and waited. The giant balls of white magic rammed into the ward spell, only to be absorbed into it. My ward grew stronger and I smiled. Did I just find a way to cheat them?

The Aedra looked at me with indifferent expressions. They simply stuck out their hands and a giant white light glowed from them. The light solidified in each one's hands into different shapes. Some shapes were swords, others were bows. The lights began to fade away and I could clearly see heavenly bows and swords. Ok, now the whole Aedra shooting arrows at us made sense now, since I had doubts about our original battle without them ever possessing any weapons.

I willed the Absorption spell to attach itself to my armor. That would cover my body in a thin layer of absorbing magic. That would be more useful than trying to keep up a larger shield while fighting. I brought up my claymore and flew over to my first Aedra. As I slashed, the thing just…flowed around it. It moved with such grace and speed that I could barely track it. In that same second, it raised its own slender sword up. It cut through my entire armor and part of my torso. Blood splashed up to my eyes and my body felt cold.

I started to fall down but I felt hands behind me. "Don't worry, brother. I am right here." I heard J'skar's voice call from behind me.

I felt healing energy flow into my chest and my energy started coming back. I willed my Levitation to continue stronger than ever and I rose back up to my own floating feet. I brought my claymore back up; angry that I let myself get owned like that. I was only seconds into the fight.

J'skar jumped in front of me, hands burning dark red. With a flick of his wrist, two Daedric longswords appeared, one in each hand. He flashed up to the two Aedra and slashed. They both parried off his first attacks, but were surprised when those sword attacks turned into a giant wave of fire roaring over them. The Aedra shrieked out in pain, falling from the sky.

I turned back to the Aedra who had slashed my armor off. It was time I paid him back. It wasn't often that I actually used my Levitation spell, but it was even less when I flashed alongside. This was going to be a fun experiment.

I pushed forward, flashing. When I reappeared, I was further behind my target than I wanted to be. Not to mention I kept floating once I exited my flash. I turned around and saw that the Aedra was just now turning his head around to 'look' at me. It raised its sword and vanished. Using my training in speeding up my own reaction time, I entered my flash stance and saw that the Aedra was gliding over to me. Since the Aedra was moving so slowly, that meant that I could flash faster than him. I pushed off the ground, racing right past him with my claymore passing right through his midsection.

I stopped several feet past him and just stood there for a second. The Aedra stood there too, immobilized just as much as I was. I continued to hold my spot, waiting for the slight blow of wind that would determine one of our fates. Finally, that gust of wind came past my back, the wind I created when I flashed forward. I could hear the Aedra grown out a complaint and the sword vanished from its hands. It crumpled, gold blood blasting from its front and back. It fell from the sky in two pieced; left and right.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by Aedra. They all had swords coming at me. I spun around, parrying off their coordinated attacks, and slicing through some of them while I did so. The Aedra pushed back, opening up spaces for me to exit through. As I found one to flash through, I saw another three Aedra lined up with their bows pulled back. They released their arrows and I found myself jumping back and deflecting off their attacks. Right where I was standing seconds before arrows from every other direction passed right through it. Looking around, I could see that the openings in the now bubble of Aedra with swords were other Aedra with bows aiming in at me. This was a good tactical plan. Too bad those arrows that missed hit some other Aedra.

Suddenly, a giant explosion of fire opened up a hole behind me. I turned around to see a flying robed skeleton come flying in with two Daedric longswords in each hand. It was J'skar. He spun himself around and placed his back to mine.

J'skar looked back at me. "Let's ground them to make this equal."

I nodded and willed all my magicka to become fire. I spread my hands out and breathed fire, I screamed fire, I became fire. The large ball of Aedra exploded as the Aedra screeched out in pain. The entire sky became nothing but a giant whirling inferno that seemed to irritate the Aedra enough to fall from the sky and land on the ground where the real army was waiting for them. I had to admit, this battle was a lot easier than I thought it would have been.

My energy gave out and I started falling down to the ground. It wasn't a fast fall, but it wasn't exactly a trip a falling cape would have given me either. I was going to break some bones on my landing that much I was sure about. As I fell to the ground, I could see all the Daedric and Aedric magic flowing over the ground. It was a full-scale war down there and I was glad that I wasn't in the middle of it. In fact…

What happened?

I opened my eyes. I was lying flat on my back. My body felt so numb and broken that I was sure that I would in fact, die. As I rose up to my knees, I could feel that nothing was broken.

"Sir, please don't do that again." Primrose said from only an inch away from my face. She brushed her hair back, saying, "Healing one bone in your body is hard enough, I don't think I can handle the whole skeleton a second time."

So, I was alive because Primrose was back in the game. It was a good thing I had Davilia heal her wounds. I turned around and looked at the battlefield. There were so many of them and I felt like I had no energy left. My hand barely even clutched the handle. I couldn't even hold my own sword. How was I going to be any help? I didn't even know the answer anymore.

I looked outside and saw that Erandur was leading his team just fine against the enemy. He was also commanding the Daedra army with a confidence that would serve him well. Just looking at Erandur now, I could see that he would one day run the Battlemage Corps as the head commander. I only had to survive long enough to mold him into the best leader that could ever exist. I had a job to do. I stood up, brushed off my armor-less shoulders, grabbed my claymore, and started walking out to teach Erandur how to lead properly.

-Vatu-

What was wrong with Hans? He was just sitting there, on his knees, gazing out at the battlefield with horrified eyes. Was it too much for him to handle? How many Aedra were out there? I didn't know, but when I looked back at Crassi and everyone else behind me, I knew we had the makings of a good army. We could do this.

I looked over at Crassi. "Crassi, Hans's down. We have Aedra outside."

She looked shocked for a moment but it was brushed off by her command presence. She turned around. "Ok, guys. This is for real. Sharpen your magic, enchant your armor, and get yourselves ready. This is war."

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Glad to see Crassi stepping up. I should really introduce her in some of the earlier chapters. Since I do go back and upgrade them, like I did when I started popping Primrose into the story earlier, I guess I can do the same with the later earlier chapters that I'm stuck on at the moment._


	65. Ch 65: Final Battle part 2

**Cearbhail:**_ Yes, I know this one is short but it's a complete thought. It comes to an end where I wanted it to end and next two chapters, the entire story will come to an official end...and then the following chapters are all apart of either bonus chapters or introductory chapters for the Rouge Shadowscale or the other skyrim story that doesn't have a title yet...or a cast of characters... yeah, i should probably get started on thinking about that._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

We were like a rushing wave of metal, swords, and magic. As we started our charge outside, we saw Hans stand back up and rush right back outside where he belonged. We belonged out there as well.

As soon as I ran through that door, two things happened. The first thing that happened was that I was showered with dirt that had exploded in front of me, the second thing that happened was that I was picked up off the ground and thrown back into the ruin by some invisible force.

My eyesight was gone, the sound quality of the battle was muffled, and my body felt numb. I started to climb back up to my feet and shook the clouds away from my vision.

_Get back up, warrior._

I heard a soft but scratchy voice calling through my ears. The voice sounded familiar but I didn't have time to dwell on it. As I got to my butt, I remembered the voice once calling me a warrior before. It was when Nexa grabbed me by my shoulders and helped me get back to my bed to sleep off my blood-rant. I pushed myself back up and grabbed my katana. I charged out through the door and saw that no one was moving. My friends were lying on their backs, blood trickling down their mouths. Their eyes stared glazed over at the skies. I looked up at the sky. There was no trace of any Aedra up there. How long was I out?

I walked across the battlefield, looking for familiar faces. I didn't see any of my close friends, but I did see Crassi and Travis near the middle of the battlefield. I rushed over to see if they needed aid; sprinting past the smoldering craters and burnt corpses as I did so. As soon as I got to the, I could see that they were dead. Half of their faces were burnt through. I could see the massive explosion that originated in their deaths. I wondered what had happened to them. Where was Hans? Where were Primrose, Nisha, Davilia, and Erandur? Where were they? Why was I the only one to not die?

"Vatu…you can't be here." I scratchy voice called from behind me.

I turned around and saw a lich standing a few feet away from me. The wind blew so quietly around us as he looked me down. Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew it was J'skar. It just had his… essence. I couldn't really explain it. That skeleton just ….radiated his person.

I turned around. "Where is everyone? Where is Hans, Davilia, Erandur…my sister?"

J'skar turned to look away. "I saw the future, Vatu. I thought I had saved it by knocking you out…but it seems that it changed it to something worse."

"What future? What happened?" I asked. My head was spinning with so many questions.

J'skar sighed. "This battle was our victory, in my vision, but it cost us so much more. Elsweyr, the war with the Argonians…your life, your sister's…Nexa's. I didn't see a good outcome so I thought if I kept you out of the fight that it would save our future. As you can see, without you in the fight…everyone died. Primrose did the one thing she could think of. With Nisha's help and with the cover support of Hans, Crassi, and Travis…they lit a gigantic oil bomb that blew up the whole battlefield. I had no idea that this would be the outcome if you never engaged in the battle."

I shook my head. "Wait a second…what?" I backed away. "You mean that Primrose and Nisha are dead?"

J'skar nodded. "Yes, they are…only…not yet."

The sky seemed to darken, casting a violent foreshadow over the land. J'skar quickly and forcefully started walking up to me. "You can change it, Vatu. Your life for your sister's and Primrose's. You can save both the future and set it back where it must be. This future isn't any better than the first. We still lose the war to the Argonians and the Aedra as well. You must get back in the fight. You must do this one thing, though. If you want to do this right, you must pull off the ring you always wear. You must become a Sen'la'guardian, as is your blood-right."

J'skar was right in my face now. "There is something you must know, though. When you take that ring off…you will forfeit your life and your sister's."

"My sister's? How?" I asked. What was going on?

J'skar shrugged. "I must not say. Just remember, you either lose your sister's and everyone else you love…or just your life and hers."

He leaned in and tapped me on the head. I felt myself fall and the world fell above me as I fell through darkness. I felt myself crash onto the cold Ayleid stone structure and opened my eyes in just enough time to see a giant blade trap falling straight for my neck. Thinking fast, I stuck out my hand and blasted the entire blade system with Frost magic. The entire blade froze to its spot and I took my time sitting up and looking out the doorway. I must have barely been out because my wave of friends were just now charging outside.

I looked down at my claw and glanced at the ring. So, everything was depending on this. Either I die or my friends did. Even if I took the ring off, my friends still might die, but I would die for sure. But, if I kept it on, they would die for sure and I would probably still die. This wasn't a trick question. I knew the answer; none of the above. I could control my fate, and I would fight the entire world if it meant protecting my sister. I would die before anyone touched her. That was for certain. J'skar claimed to know the two futures, but if one existed and changed to something else…why couldn't a third option come up and result in no one dying? Well, might as well find out.

I reached down and pulled off my ring. I closed my eyes and waited but…I didn't feel any different. How exactly did this work again? It wasn't like I became some beast when I took it off. No, I had to do something to activate it. Thinking back to my vision of Ri'dato, I could remember how he activated his Sen'la'gar. He took a deep breath and forced an energy from his stomach up.

I could do that. He could control it, I could not. Last time this happened to me, I almost died in a fight against liches. That didn't matter; I was supposed to die anyway. NO, I couldn't think like that. I still had options even if it stemmed from using this direct course of death.

I took a deep breath and felt the pressure of an animal inside me build. My body started burning, my fur rising in blood-lust and anticipation. I shook my head and my shoulder rose as a could shudder passed through my spine. Finally, I felt the world slow down and my entire body tensed up. I took a deep breath and allowed myself to relax.

_NO! You do not slow your attack! You are a warrior, not a kitten. You have a war to fight and you will fight with the utmost speed and strength. You will fight as though you are a god of battle. You are a Sen'yuir. A warrior of Senche. Now go out there and make Alkosh proud. Prove to me why you are chosen to carry my blood._

I felt a heavy presence resonate within me. The blood of ancestors before me flowed through my thoughts and will. I could see their hopes, their dreams, their battles and glory. It all came crying for me to uphold our legacy. Without warriors to fight, nations lose their hopes and dreams. I had to protect everyone who wanted live their lives; the children, the mothers, the fathers…I had to fight for them. The entire culture of my clan surged through my veins and now, I knew how to control it.

* * *

><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Well, I thought about just ending it there, originally. You know, have everyone die except the key main characters like Davilia and Erandur. I purposely kept them out of the whole...explosion thing because I almost made it not a dream but changed my mind at the last second. I was going to end the book here but now it just got its life extended by one or two more chapters. Should be anticlamatic, but I'll try my best to make it beastly...somehow._


	66. Ch 66: Final Battle part 3

**Cearbhail:**_ (sigh) It feels like only yesterday I got this laptop back from the shop because the disk-drive needed replaced. Then, there was this whole "We need to scan your laptop for inconsistencies" thing going on. so I sent my laptop in to get it checked out AGAIN and then Best Buy said, "I'm sorry, you're harddrive is going bad...by the way, we're sending it in to get fixed...yes we can still turn it on and save everything, you know, back every file up so that you can restore it to previous awesomeness but guess what... we won't!"_

_-_- So... that's why there have been no updates recently. Other computers... silly me... won't let me manage my stories. But, I'm back. And this... should be the end._

* * *

><p>-Vatu-<p>

The fight that lied before me flashed before me as images. Time seemed to wink by while staying slow and frozen in place. Sounds were heightened to the point of nauseating but at the same time dulled out to the point of deafness. My body was a roaring hurricane of bloodshed without any ability to control it. My body seemed to fight only my enemies while sparing my friends from any contact.

I needed no breath, I needed no break; I only needed to fight, to kill every living thing that opposed me and my comrades. Looking behind me, without turning my head, I could see Alkosh and every warrior, lending me strength.

My sight was irrelevant, but I still watched as my claws ripped through an Aedra that vaguely looked in my direction through his eye-wrap as I charged for him. My claws were welcomed in his chest. His screams were music to my ears as I ripped his chest open. I felt a wad of energy coming for me, I could see where it was going to hit, how I had to move to dodge it. I had the eyes of all my ancestors watching my back. I had all their knowledge of how to move, how to fight, how to defend. I had the magical ability of a god and I was about to prove it.

I turned around, grabbing an invisible ball of Restoration magic. I crushed the ball in my hand with little effort. I could feel a light sting but nothing else. Aedra started to form all around me, aiming their balls of light. All of them released their magic at the same time. I exhaled. Time slowed even further down, almost to a stop. I don't really know what happened, but time resumed. When time resumed, all the Aedra surrounding exploded into bloody limbs.

Steam rolled off my fur and my muscles screamed in pain, but I was only beginning. Several Aedra with swords were now gliding over to me. They disappeared for a second and I felt something hit me. Time stopped, I think. Well, the Aedra stopped. All three of them were around me, their swords pressed against my fur. They weren't moving, but I sure was. With a push of my own force and will, fire materialized around both me and the Aedra. The Aedra burned away in a flash of hot fire.

The fire died away. I scanned the area. There was nothing around me. Looking up, I could see a whole sky filled with Aedra, circling overhead. They were crying at me, hoping that I wouldn't rise up to meet them. I wanted to. I wished I had wings, a way to fly up and challenge them.

My wish became a command. Wings of golden light sprout from my back and I rose off the ground. Golden flames blasted off my claws, turning my only weapon into four foot long flame-induced death. Within seconds, I was up in the air. Aedra surrounded me, slashing me with their swords. As the swords came up to me, energy flashed out of my body, deflecting their petty attacks by rolling the swords away from me.

I watched as more Aedra started swarming around me. I had them all right where I wanted them. I stuck out my hands, willing them all to stop. String of energy shot out of my fingers, flying out to the Aedra everywhere. Millions of strings materialized from me, wrapping around every Aedra around. The world seemed to come to a stop. My energy was so strong that the very air seemed to be still. Gravity was no longer allowed in my plain of space. Nothing could move without my say, this was my realm now.

I looked down at the Clanfear and the liches gathering around. I said, "Take your shots now; I can't hold this much longer."

The liches wasted no time as they charged through, slashing through the Aedra like they were butter. The Clanfear, Churls, and Scamps all unleashed their magicka at the remaining forces, with my friends launching everything that they had as well. The rest of the battle seemed to melt away. I kept holding the sphere as long as I could, hoping I could last until the last Aedra had been slain. My body seemed to pull and stretch. My very spirit seemed like it was continuously pulling out and back, like a wave of water that rolled onto the shore and then pulled back into the main body of water. Some part of my spirit didn't come back just like how some of the water got absorbed in the sand. I was running out of water. I couldn't last too much longer.

I felt J'skar slice through the last Aedra. The fight was done. My body seemed ready to explode so I just let go. Everything. I let go of everything. Once I dropped the spell, my Sen'la'gar snapped off too. My body snapped off. My spirit was like elastic. It was pulled too far back and it had snapped. My eyes blurred out and I slowly started drifting toward the ground. I could barely see what was happening. I had just enough energy to sustain my flight but even that was running out.

My feet lightly touched the ground. Pain shot through my body. My body flushed hot and then a cold shiver rocked through my spine. I could feel my body taking the thrashing from being over-exposed to Alkosh's gift. My eyesight dimmed even further, growing blurry as my body started to shut down. Blood started pounding in my ears, and my head was throbbing like my head was in a dark welkynd stone. My arms twitched, my legs gave out, and I was falling to my chest. I didn't know that I was holding my breath, but by the way it escaped from my lungs I guess that I was holding it for too long.

_Get up, warrior._

I looked up. I must have been seeing an Illusion. Nexa was standing in front of me, dressed in her armor. She looked down at me with her arms crossed.

"Vatu…why? Why did you do it?" She asked, looking down at me with her hard red eyes.

I tried to push myself up, but my arms weren't responding. "Do what?" I asked.

She looked down at me. "Your Sen'la'gar. Do you realize what you've done?"

It was then that I noticed that Argonians were behind her. A masked Shadowscale looked back at me and said, "They still exist? This one has to be terminated before he can breed."

The Argonian unsheathed his dagger and charged up to kill me. I still couldn't move. Luckily, I didn't need to. Nexa turned around, grabbed the dagger, and pulled it out of the Argonian's hand. She turned on him. "Are you going to attack an Imperial Battlemage without my order? Are you ready to start a war with an allied nation while our race is being threatened of being exterminated?"

The Argonian looked at her and then back down to me. "But…Our Queen's orders were too.."

Nexa brought the dagger to his throat. "You are under my orders right now and right now…_my_ orders are to go fight the Aedra. We'll deal with the Khajiit later."

The Shadowscales bowed and disappeared. As soon as they were gone, she bent down and grabbed me by my claw. She smiled and said, "It's been too long, warrior. Here, let me help you up."

I could feel Restoration magic surging through my hand.

_Vatu! Vatu! Wake up. Don't you dare die on me!_

Slowly the world started pulling away from me. My image of Nexa grabbing my claw started to fade away. Instead, I started to feel my body as it really was. My arms were shot. All the muscles inside were crying in pain, unable to answer anything I sent to them. My legs felt like they weren't even there. My head hurt, but not too bad. I had trouble focusing and I started to feel myself slip away. There wasn't anything for me to focus on…my mind was letting go. Was…Was I going to die?

_-drip-_

A light drop of water hit me squarely on my head. My mind shocked me back into my body. It was focusing on something. More drops of water started splashing on my head. I could feel my fingers bending. My claws were extending. I was regaining my ability to feel.

My ears were still pounding with the sound of blood surging through my head. I couldn't hear anything other than the distant wailing of something far away.

_Vatu! Please, get up!_

_Vatu! Get up, man. Don't you dare leave us._

My claw started gripping the soft grass underneath me. I could hear voices. Images of Davilia and Erandur entered my mind. They were standing above me, trying to shake me awake. I tried to crawl up to them, to tell them that I was ok, but nothing happened. I seemed to be stuck in my lockdown. I was trapped in a limbo between life and death. Death was pulling on me, one that would be accomplished only if my consciousness lost its focus. It couldn't do that if these voices kept calling for me.

Thoughts of my friends continued to pull me up. I could feel myself getting stronger. There was something else keeping me alive.

_Please, don't die. I need you. I can't live without you, brother._

Nisha's voice vibrated through my core. I could see her to my left, while Erandur and Davilia were on my right. There was something not right, though. I would sense another presence just on top of me, pushing me down slightly. It wasn't painful, in fact, it felt relieving. The fourth presence seemed to create a warm feeling, a welcoming feeling of love.

_Warrior, you need to wake up._

The world seemed to shatter. I was standing in a grassy field. Nexa was standing in front of me. She smiled as she leaned against the only tree around. She was clutching an apple in her hand. She tossed it to me and said, "So Vatu. Are you ready?"

I only caught the apple and raised an eyebrow. "Ready? For what?"

She motioned for the door behind her. It was just then that I noticed the doorway that sat in the middle of the field. "To leave. This doorway leads to the afterlife. Sithis awaits."

I stood there, looking at the doorway. "Do I really have to leave?"

She shrugged. "Well, I guess it's not your only option. Not really. You have one other option. You can stay here, with me, and with your clan."

The doorway disappeared and Nexa walked up to me. She kissed me on the cheek and spun me around. There I could see the clan that I had dreamt of. Ri'dato, one of my direct ancestors, walked up to greet me.

He grabbed my elbow in a greeting. "Welcome, child."

More members of the clan started coming up to greet me. I stood there, grabbing elbows. This felt good. I was finally home.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Bet you didn't see this coming. Vatu's dead! Ok.. Ok... don't freak out yet and yell at me for something that isnt' over yet. One more chapter to go. Then... well bonus chapters that follow._


	67. Ch 67: Homecoming

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, not the end, not yet. This is the second to last chapter, I swear. Bet you didn't see this coming so soon. I bet you thought I was going to wait another month before posting this. I figured... better get this done before the motherboard decides to freak out too. Well, this is all about Vatu's body. Enjoy.._

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><p>-Davilia-<p>

I stood beside a grieving Nisha, hugging her as tightly as I could. She wanted to break away from my hold and wrap herself around Vatu, but I couldn't let her do it. If she got near him and interrupted Jurard, Hans, and Primrose from their work, he might never recover. I was just about to rush in and give healing him a go as well, but I was waiting for Erandur to come up and take this bundle of joy away from me for a second.

I looked down at her. Nisha was nothing more than a tiny ball of fluff in my arms. She pulled and pulled, cursing at me in Khajiit as she tried to break my hold on her. I didn't blame her for a second. If I had less control myself, I would have let her go up to him long ago, and I would have joined her as well. I was dying inside but I didn't allow myself to show it. Everyone else was just as stoic-faced. Everyone but Crassi. She was the first one to walk up and see Vatu lying in a pool of his own blood. She screamed out for a medic and ran up to him. She shook him a couple times, screaming for him to get up and continue fighting.

She tried to seem like a commanding officer, but I could see the tears rolling through her eyes. Crassi may have acted like a piece of work most of the time but she was still human. Just because I was an elf didn't make me any less than she was.

I looked down at Nisha, who had stopped pulling against me. She was crying into her sleeves. "Brother…why? It's not fair. I lost my mommy, daddy, and now you?"

Jurard cried out in pain and jumped back, grabbing her head. "Too much, I can't handle it." She turned around and started crawling away from Vatu.

I looked down at Nisha and said, "Wait here. I'm going to go heal your brother."

Nisha vaguely nodded. Her eyes were glazed over in pain and she sat there with a quiet look of inner hatred on her face.

I stood up and walked up to the collection of healers waiting around Vatu's body. Hans and Primrose were the only ones left. The liches had their try at healing Vatu but after they finished the battle with the Aedra, they were exhausted and needed to recover. The only lich that remained was J'skar, who was waiting for Hans to kill him. He really wanted to return to his clan in the afterlife, but he was committed to waiting for the end of the war to go back if Hans needed him to stay. The battle here was won, with no battlemage casualties, but the war was still far from over.

I came up beside Primrose. Her stance was rough; her face was as red as it could be. It looked like she was focusing very hard on healing Vatu. I wondered what was going through her head?

I looked down at Vatu, whose body seemed so small and frail. I kneeled down next to him and stuck my hands out. I closed my eyes and started focusing on his body. A mental image of every part of his body layered itself in my mind, giving me every small detail of anything wrong with his body colored in red. That being said…everything was red. Nothing was blue…except his skeletal system. Primrose and the other healers had just finished his skeletal system and were now working on repairing his muscles.

I allowed myself to exhale and relax before I reached in with my invisible hands. I could see Primrose working on the energy lines. I should begin on the muscles alongside with Hans."

-Vatu-

"Welcome home, cub."

I couldn't help but smile and purr as my father brushed my head with his claw. It had been so long since I saw my parents, to feel them actually near me. I dreamt of them every night, but to actually be here with them was better than any dream could ever be.

My mother, who had tears forming in her eyes, walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me. I just stood there, feeling her warm embrace as she pressed me close to her. I didn't want to be anywhere else but here.

"I'm sorry, cub. You are still too young to be here, but…here you are." My mother said. She pulled me away for a second and looked me in the eye. Her eyes were crying out in pain with an unanswered question. "What happened to Nisha?"

That question stopped time for me. Everything darkened and the world seemed to shatter. There was nothing but my mother and me; locked in an instant of time where nothing mattered. The world seemed to catch back up to me and I lowered my head. "She's still alive, mother."

She only nodded, her smile a little forced. "I'm sorry to hear that, but relieved at the same time."

I pulled back for a second. Did my mother just say that she was sorry that Nisha was dead? How could she think like that?

I was just about to ask her how she could think like that, but she already explained her answer. "I'm sorry that Nisha has to live without her family. She's too young to be without us and to lose you too must be destroying her inside."

Nexa walked up beside me and grabbed me by the shoulder. "Warrior, there is something you must know."

I turned to face her and asked, "How did you die, Nexa? I mean, I heard Jurard had to hurt you to save everyone."

Nexa looked confused. "I'm not dead. I'm in a trance. Sithis is my lord and he tells me when specific people die. I asked him to tell me when you died. When you did, I came to follow. I'm here to bring you back."

The entire village stopped for a second. I looked around. Their faces seemed entirely indifferent to what had just been said.

I turned to my mother and said, "Is that possible?"

She nodded. "Yes, it is. As long as your body is repaired before the connection your spirit holds to your aura, it is very possible."

Nexa nodded. "And your friends have done nothing but fight to heal your body. After all, you saved all their lives by killing all the Aedra. Right now, they're trying to reconstruct your body. In order to keep the connection between your aura and your spirit, you can't dwell here for too long. If you stay, you will remain dead."

She stuck her hand out and said, "Take my hand and we'll travel to the void."

-Primrose-

Lines were thinning out, becoming drastically close to snapping. I was good, I was very good. But even I couldn't reconnect energy lines that broke apart. I had spirit hands but they weren't strong enough to pull energy back together. So, instead I poured my own energy to strengthen the bonds that were dangerously close to snapping. Almost all the lines were repaired now, but the longer Vatu continued to lie here in a comatose state with no spiritual presence in his body, the faster the energy dissipated.

I looked up at the line that stretched from his body. There was a long line that drifted off of him, pulling away into a giant vortex that gathered several feet above him. I knew that I had to keep that line intact while keeping his other energy lines connected as well. At the moment, the line was strong enough to support itself, but that didn't stop me from pouring everything I had into the thing. I had to keep Vatu alive. He couldn't leave his sister alone. I wouldn't let him die, even if I had to die in his place.

Thoughts of Vatu smiling, talking, recovering from this battle kept entering my mind. It was the only thing that fueled my own spirit to keep pouring my Restoration magic through his body. _I_ was the first one to help Vatu. When he hit the ground and Crassi alerted me to his condition, _I_ was the one who came down to make sure he was ok. It wasn't Davilia, or Erandur, or even Hans, it was _me_. I was so worried about him that I abandoned anything that was going on around me, concentrating only on him. After I started healing him, I noticed just how wrecked his body was. It was ten times worse than the first time I healed him, and I wondered if I had to go through his mind a second time to fetch him back. I would go through the plains of Oblivion if I had to. I was going to get my friend back.

Tears dripped down my cheek but I didn't stop working. I hadn't stopped crying since I started healing Vatu. I hadn't moved either. I was still sitting on his chest, immobile. If I moved for even a second without fixing his body, everything could snap. I had to keep these energy lines connected, even though my own spirit felt pulled too thin. I wondered how much longer I could hold on until I snapped. Well, one way or another, I would be with Vatu. If I died connected to his spirit, I would join him wherever he was.

"Primrose, don't stop."

I heard Davilia cheering me on. She was standing behind me, I knew. She was busy healing the muscles while Hans was working on the blood vessels. I only needed to hold these lines together long enough for the body to be fixed and for Vatu to come back to his body. One of us would have to go fetch him and it couldn't be me. I was needed here and only here. If I even wavered…who knows what could happen?

-Vatu-

I looked down from above. I could see Primrose standing over my body, crying as she poured her energy into my body.

Nexa stood next to me, grunting in her usual gruff way. "Huh. She seems to love you very much. Did I miss something?" She turned toward me with her arms crossed. She squinted her eyes. "I know I didn't announce it, Vatu, but I thought you and I would end up together."

I only looked at her and shrugged. "I didn't plan this, ok? I had no idea she loves me…if she does. I mean, I don't think she does."

Nexa grabbed my head and pulled it toward Primrose. "Would she be giving up her own life just to save yours if she didn't?" She pulled my head back to her. "It's ok, Vatu. I'm not jealous and I'm sure not angry. I was just confused for a second. Love does weird things to people. It makes you do desperate for someone. You always want them around and when they leave you…you would do anything to keep their spirit alive. Even if it means giving up your own life to save some part of them. Even if you have to sacrifice your own reputation, your kingdom, your family, your life…to save their sister from being hurt. You will do anything for the ones you love."

Nexa looked down for a second but then her head was back up. "If you don't come back and that Bosmer doesn't die, I can wholeheartedly say that she will stick to your sister like glue. She will protect Nisha from anything and everything, because it is the only thing left that will connect her to you."

I looked back down at Primrose, who still sat on my chest, crying her eyes out as her energy poured out of her small arms and into my body. It was probably the only thing that was keeping me semi-alive.

I looked over at Nexa. "Can't I go back yet?"

Nexa only shook her head. "Your skeleton may be intact but your heart is still not beating. Your body is dying and the only thing that is keeping you alive is that constant flow of energy keeping your aura bright. Don't worry; your Dunmer friend is doing everything she can to repair your heart. Hans is almost done with the blood vessels. It shouldn't be much longer now. I give it a couple minutes."

-Davilia-

My eyes felt like they were going to explode from my head. Everything was in pain; my arms were screaming for me to stop, my lungs stopped taking in air. Everything I had was going to pulling and fusing the muscles back together. I got a telepathic message from someone to restart the heart so I stopped everything I was doing to focus on that. It seemed easy. The only problem was that Hans wasn't done fixing the blood vessels and without those fixed; I could create more problems than solutions. I couldn't wait any longer, though. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could feel a warning that if I didn't do this now it would be too late.

So, I reached in with my spirit hands, grabbed Vatu's heart and gave it a squeeze. I could see the blood push out. I let go of the heart and saw blood flow in. I gave it another squeeze and poured in Restoration magicka while I did so. Whatever was wrong with the heart stopped and it squeezed itself. Then it let go and repeated. Blood started flowing through his body. Now, I needed to make sure this worked. I reached in and grabbed his lungs. I pulled my own head up to Vatu's mouth and connected my mouth to his. I breathed life through his lips, filling his lungs with Restoration magic. Almost instantly, his lungs started taking air in on their own. There, that much was done. He was now breathing. His muscles would be just fine if they recovered slowly.

-Vatu-

"Did…did Davilia just kiss me?" I asked Nexa as I looked down at the two elves working my body. "Hey, get off of me! Hey, don't do that in front of everyone!"

Nexa stood beside me, shaking her head. I wasn't sure if she was getting jealous of Davilia now too.

"Hey, let go of my tail. You don't understand…you don't grab the tail…that's, well…it's just not something we do in public." I screamed at Davilia as she played with my tail. I face-palmed and looked over at Nexa. "I swear this is not what it looks like."

Nexa shrugged. "Oh no, it's perfectly fine. She's reattaching the bones in your tail. And that kiss…she was giving your lungs air. Your body is ready for you now." She walked up behind me and kissed me on the back of my neck. "I'll be seeing you soon, warrior. I have a meeting with my grandmother tomorrow about the state of the war. If everything goes alright, I'll be seeing you on the battlefield….as comrades. We will fight these Aedra together."

With those last words, she pushed me through the vortex and I came flying down to my body. I closed my eyes as suddenly I was slammed back within my flesh-bag. Instantly, I was overcome with pain. So much pain that it caused me to cry out as I came to realization that I was in fact alive.

I heard so many voices cry out and I felt someone wrap themselves around my neck for a hug. I opened my eyes to see bright green hair covering my face. Glancing with my other eyes, I could see Primrose's head was buried next to mine.

"Oh, I'm so glad…you have no idea how glad I am that…." She cried out as she continued to bury her face into mine.

I reached out with the only arm I could move at the second and wrapped it around her. I opened my mouth to talk but no words came out. I couldn't talk yet. That scream was the only thing I could manage. Suddenly, I felt colder again and my eyes shut. Everything stopped.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Oh now what? Did he just die again? Well, we'll find out next chapter._


	68. Ch 68: Time to wake up

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, last chapter. I know, It won't end perfectly. Remember, this is still part of a two part story. It will continue in the Rogue Shadowscale... coming very soon. In like a month or so. I know it took a while but this needed a lot of thinking on my part. Anyway, enjoy and review if you can. I wish to know what you thought of the whole story. Also.. bonus chapters coming soon._

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><p>-Vatu-<p>

Clouds drifted up above me as I floated through nothingness. It seemed like I wasn't quite there, but I didn't feel dead either. It was like I was stuck somewhere, but where was there? I didn't feel threatened, but I did feel like there was an urgency to get out of here.

I leaned forward and found myself sitting up. There was something familiar about this place, but what was it? I started to float forward, moving…I think. I couldn't tell. Since everything was pitch white, I couldn't tell if I was moving. I couldn't tell what was up, what was down, how far something was, or how close. It was very nauseating.

My body felt incomplete. I could see my hands, but at the same time, I couldn't. It was like they weren't really there, but since my body thought that I had hands…here they were. I closed my eyes and found myself just…floating. There was nothing. What was I? Why was I here? Was I always here? Did it matter if I wasn't? Why was I thinking anyway? Was I thinking? Was this natural? What was natural?

There was no concept of time. I don't think I even knew what time was. Breathing no longer mattered to this spirit. Breathing, smelling, feeling, hearing, even seeing didn't matter. Everything happened within my thoughts. I moved when I thought it, I saw at all times, in all directions, with knowledge of everything that was to come and everything that had already happened, but I didn't care. It wasn't a mystery and I didn't need to know anything so…it was empty knowledge.

What was the purpose of me sitting here? Was I waiting for something? You'd think that with my vast knowledge of everything that I'd know what was coming next, but my own path was covered up…murky. I could not see what was lying in front of me. So many things that I could do…but I couldn't see them. So many choices that I could make, but I couldn't decide them. So… what was I going to do? Where was I going to go? Floating there with no answer and no decision, I decided to just float here until something happened. However long it took.

-Davilia-

"How is he?" I asked as I poked my head in the infirmary.

Primrose sat near his bed, her eyes closed and her breathing heavy. I could see her hands trembling as she continued to rub his hand in hers. I could see the tears flowing down her face. Primrose didn't seem to notice me, so she continued to just sit there, petting his hand. Faintly, I could see some Restoration magic flow from her fingers into his palm.

I started to step into the infirmary and I started to hear Primrose chanting something under her breath. As I started sneaking closer I could hear, "Please come back, please come back, please come back…"

I was finally close enough and I reached out to grab Primrose by the shoulder. "Primrose?" I asked as calmly as I could as I gently brought my hand down on her shoulder. She practically jumped out of her skin and whirled around to see me.

Her eyes were blood-shot red and I couldn't tell if she was looking at me or just in my direction. It seemed like she wasn't fully there. "Davilia?" She asked, her voice cracked. She started looking around the room and suddenly started taking notice at her situation. She rose up from the chair and stumbled forward.

I reached out and grabbed her. "Primrose? Are you ok?"

"Water…need water. Hurry." Her husky voice barely whispered out. Her body felt limp in my arms. I nodded and gently carried Primrose to a bed near Vatu's. I placed her in the bed and I think she nodded her thanks to me.

I turned around and jogged out of the room. Ok, I needed some water. I might as well get some food too. She had been sitting there with Vatu for two days now, without leaving. She had to be killing herself. It wasn't healthy for her to keep doing this. I needed to help her.

"Dav!"

I turned around and saw Erandur coming up to me. He was smiling for once, a side of him that I forgot he had. He hadn't really smiled since we started the training course.

I stopped and turned to face him. I bowed as he got closer and said, "Hi, Era…"

I was cut short as he grabbed me by the neck and pulled me in for a kiss. My first reaction was to push him away, but that was quickly replaced by my arms wrapping across his back and pulling him in for a tight embrace. It felt so perfect that everything I was thinking about prior to doing anything was forgotten.

He slowly pulled away, saying, "Feel like getting some lunch now that we're done with our training?"

I could only smile and nod. I was glad that we had some time to relax before we jumped into another battle with the Aedra. Hans was supposed to let us know what our first assignment was in a couple days…once Vatu was back up on his feet.

Vatu! Primrose!

I started to pull from Erandur's hand but he looked back at me, something bothering him.

"Is there something wrong, Dav?" He asked.

I nodded. "Primrose! She's collapsed in the sickbay. She needs water and food."

Erandur nodded and looked around. We saw Travis coming up and Erandur flicked a fireball at him. Travis turned to face Erandur with an annoyed look. Erandur raised his eyebrows and said, "Can you make sure Primrose and Vatu get some food and water soon?"

Any annoyance in Travis's face disappeared. He nodded and said, "Yes, sir. Right away." He jogged off to go help Primrose. I smiled. I think the new title of Troop Leader was getting to Erandur's head but I was sure that soon that he'd return to normal. I think he was just a little too wound up and needed to blow off some steam. I was more than happy to let him.

-Hans-

"I think that went well."

"Well, J'skar. You were killing them left and right. Me? I was lucky that I survived that air battle." I said as I looked at the long slash mark that had formed across my chest during the fight with the Aedra.

"I wish to ask you something." J'skar asked, his bony hands rubbing up against each other.

I turned to face him. "What is it?"

He seemed to look down. "Can you kill me; send me back to the afterlife? I…I have a friend waiting for me and I don't want to keep _her_ waiting." He said with a mystical wink of a non-existing eye.

I only smiled. "Are you sure that you can't stay until the war is over?"

I seemed to catch J'skar in some sort of pause. "I…"

"What about Vatu and Nisha? If you stay here, you can protect them." I asked. I wasn't trying to pressure him to stay, but I wanted to make sure he knew exactly what he was giving up.

He only stood there, silent for a couple minutes. "Shab, you have me there. I will stay here to make sure that the cubs survive. But…if I am going to stay here, it's not going to be as bones. I want access to the ancient necromancer texts in the Battlemage Headquarters. I want to find out how to create my original body again. I know the spell…rather…potion exists but I need to know how to prepare it."

The ancient texts? Those were some old books that heavily involved killing and sacrificing to get any results. "Are you sure you want to know the answer?"

We stood there for a couple more seconds before J'skar looked at his bony hand. "I…" His voice growing raspy and hollow. "I…" He placed his hand down. "I will find out soon." He looked around. "I may be a monster now, but I am still J'skar. I wish to look like him so I can feel less like a monster, but if that involves becoming a monster just to look like my old self…would I risk it? I have no answer for that yet."

He stepped away. "So, can I have those texts?"

I nodded and pulled out a note. I drew him a map, wrote down some instructions, and signed it at the end. I handed him the rolled up note with a nod. "Just be aware that you may be attacked on sight…so you may want to yell that you're approaching and that you have a signed letter from me. That may get you close enough to get inspected."

He nodded and took the note. He opened it and looked at the map. He turned around and walked out the door. "I will be in contact once I have made my decision on what I'm going to do about this body."

I watched as he pushed off the ground, flying away towards the Imperial City. I hoped that the library was still intact, but I didn't know for sure what was still there anymore. I spent the last month just training these kids for war, but the whole time those Aedra had to be out there, blowing up cities, hunting down survivors. I wondered just how much of the world they had already burned down. At least we had one victory. I sure hope it lasted.

-Primrose-

"Rose?" I felt a hand come up to the back of my neck. "It's me, Travis. I'm here to give you some water. Can you open your mouth? And try not to breathe while I pour this down, ok?"

I could barely tell what was going on. His voice seemed so distant, the words like gibberish. I know the words, but the meaning was lost on my brain. I was so tired. I didn't realize that I put that much energy into healing Vatu. I lost track of time. I lost track of everything; I just wanted him back. I wanted him to be here with me. That was all I wanted. I couldn't believe that I didn't see my feelings for him earlier, but now that I was aware of them…I couldn't stop thinking about them.

I felt a cold cup brush across my lips and I felt my lips slowly open. I felt the cold rush of water slowly pour down my tongue and into my mouth. I was welcomed by such a rush of wanting that my arm reached up on its own and snatched the hand holding the cup of water. I lifted the glass and just downed the water, inhaling it as it entered my mouth. I started coughing but at least my body was waking up.

I felt a hand hit the back of my shoulders a few times while I coughed the water out. "Jeez, Rose. I told you to take it easy."

I nodded and finally noticed that my eyes were open. I was so tired that I hadn't noticed that I was looking. I looked over at Travis, who only smiled as he handed me another cup and a sandwich. "Here, you need to eat something. You won't be much help to Vatu if you're dead."

I nodded and took the sandwich. I inhaled the food and water, taking almost instant relief that my body was being sustained again. I nodded my thanks and stood up. My legs buckled underneath me and Travis was there to catch me as I fell. "Careful. You need to focus on getting your strength back up."

"I will focus on that when I have Vatu back." I barely even spoke the words, but the strength I found inside them gave me enough strength to stand up and walk over to Vatu. I sat down in my chair and reached up for his head. I wondered what was going on in there. Was he even there now?

"Wait…are you?" Travis started toward me.

I nodded and pushed him back as he approached me. "I've done this before. His body is back to normal but he still refuses to wake up. I know what I have to do."

"But you told me what happened last time you did this. What do you think this will accomplish by yourself?" He stated his fact.

I looked over at Vatu. I would do anything for him. Even if I had to do this alone and suffer fates worse than I did before, I would find him again.

I exhaled and said, "If I'm not back in one day…get Davilia to come get me out. Ok?"

Travis only nodded. "Ok. I'll be back later to see if you need anything."

-Vatu-

My quiet realm was no longer quiet. There was chaos. I was in a land surrounded by fire and blood. Bodies seemed to be crawling out of the ground, but were unable to leave. They moaned as they tried to crawl out but were trapped by whatever invisible forces seemed to dominate their existence. The sky seemed darker than the void with the clouds darker still. Trees lined the edges of rocks, blood dripping from the tips of the leaves that were dark and crumpled.

Where was I? Why was I here?

I took a step forward and out of nowhere, bars burst through the ground and encased me in a circle. I reached up to break them loose, but nothing I did seemed to work. Why was I being trapped? What was going on?

"Vatu?"

I looked behind me and saw…someone? I believe it was a person. I did not know what a person looked like but I seemed to have enough knowledge that it was maybe a person.

"Vatu? Are you ok? Are you hurt?" The thing asked as it started walking toward me.

I felt a sudden fear come up inside me. "No, don't come any closer. It…it might come." I didn't know what It was…but I knew that It didn't like other people getting near me.

The thing only nodded…I think. "I am prepared for anything. But…I need you to take my hand. Ok? Can I do that?"

The voice seemed so sweet and calming. The eyes seemed to glow at me and I felt an emotion come over my hand. As it reached out for my claws, I felt my claws reach through the cage to meet it.

"You're doing great, Vatu. Just…keep calm, ok?"

The voice seemed to call through me, enforcing some invisible will over mine. Some part of me started to panic and I felt something happen. Something was about to happen.

The person cried out in pain and looked down. The bodies that were constantly crawling through the ground were now reaching up for its legs and pulling them underneath the ground. I heard the person cry out in pain as the bodies started to bite through its legs. I could see red blood flowing from its limbs as their teeth started sinking in.

"Vatu! Help!" The person cried.

I only shook my head. "I can't. I'm stuck here."

It shook its head. "No, you aren't. This is your mind, Vatu. You control it, you can make it stop. You have to make it stop."

"That name you keep calling out? Is that my name?" I asked.

It looked up at me with a sad look. "Yes, your name is Vatu. I am Primrose…and I love you."

Primrose? Love? What were those concepts?

I shook my head. Somewhere in the back of my head, something thumped. My vision blurred. A vision of me sitting on some stairs with a cooked rat entered my mind.

_What are you eating?_ The voice asked. I closed my eyes and said, "It's rat." _Oh, rat? I've never had that before?_ I stuck out my hand and pushed it in her face, which only made her squeal back in surprise and disgust. I felt a warm feeling of happiness rush through me. I was playing with her. "I'm Vatu." _I'm Primrose. Well, it was nice meeting you._

I was back in my cage with my hands still drawn out toward Primrose. She was down to her knees now, still fighting against the bodies still griping and slowly pulling her down. She looked up at me with her scared bright eyes. "Vatu? A little help?"

A painful jab at the back of my head threw me into another vision. _About earlier…_ I shook my head, "It was a matter of life or death. I would have done the same and expect nothing different in the future." _Thanks. But…I've been treating you like a vampire that's ready to bite my throat and…you've done nothing to deserve it. Can you please forgive me?_

"Vatu! Hurry." Primrose screamed and it caused my vision to fade away. She was down to her waist now, her hands already grasped and pulled under the ground. The bodies were biting her arms, making her scream out in pain.

It was the scream of pain that made me grab onto the bars. I wanted to help her. More visions started entering my brain, us fighting the invisible monster, the graduation test. I could see everything. My time with Davilia, Erandur, Nexa, Nisha…everyone. I had a life…I had friends, family. I had to get back.

"VATU?" I heard Primrose scream. Her shoulders were now being pulled over and the bodies were reaching up for her head. As they started to pull her down, I screamed and pushed on the bars.

"NO!" I roared. The force of my roar blew the bars apart like they were built from sand. I pushed forward and almost instantly found my claws raking forward. The ground seemed to rip apart, the bodies moaning in a silent plea for help. I did not care for them, I wanted only my friend. I wanted Primrose.

I raked through the ground, found her arm, and pulled her back up. As her head broke the surface of the ground, she took a deep breath and then broke out into laughter.

I nodded. "Primrose. I remember now."

She smiled and said, "Well, that's step one. Here's step two." She reached up for my head and placed her hands around my temple. She stepped in and kissed me on the cheek. "Time to wake up."

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ended with an unsure ending. Love it when I do that. J'skar is going to go find out what needs to be done to get his life back. Primrose is in love with Vatu...he... well I don't know yet. He might fall in love with her but there is also Nexa...who is the main character for the next book. Davilia and Erandur are an item now and I don't know if you caught this but Travis...Likes Primrose. Anyway, all stuff to consider for the next book. Oh, and the war is almost over. Next book will mainly be about...eh..why ruin it?_


	69. Preview Chapter: Rouge Shadowscale

**Cearbhail:**_ Yes, the book is officially done. Now will be the introduction chapters, bonus chapters, and bonus stories. Like Ri'dato and more importantly J'skar's short story. In fact, I'll just make that one a seperate story all its own. Maybe six chapters long. Oh and because I finished Mass Effect and hated the whole unsure ending, I'll be posting a bonus chapter about what happened after the battle. Later, though._

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><p>-Nexa-<p>

The War Room. It was the one place in all of Argonia that housed the thinkers behind Argonia's hierarchy. The leaders of the shadowwraiths, the shadowscales, the Queen, and the Warlord gathered here on a daily basis, almost hourly now that the Aedra were breathing down our necks. It was the coming of the Aedra that made us form an alliance with the shattered Empire of Cyrodiil as well as the newly forming Aldmeri Dominion. It was that reason that I was freed from the Shadowscale Prison; where only the most treasonous prisoners were sent. I was freed because I had experience fighting these creatures and now I was supposed to be in charge of my own Shadow Squad, comprised of a few shadowscales and shadowwraiths.

My time in the prison was horrifying. I almost lost touch with my sanity as the long painful days stretched by. I wasn't sure how much time had passed before the torture would start again. I wasn't sure how much pain my body could take each time my captors started again. They always seemed to know how much pain I could take. They always has a Hist with them, whose sap could heal my wounds with a tiny lap of my tongue.

After all this time and pain, do you think that I was happy to be out of prison and helping the very nation that tried to hurt me? I…I was not doing it for them, but for the friends I made while I was in the Arcane University. I wanted to see what happened to my friend. I had a small escape from my torture and heard from Lord Sithis that my friend had perished. I went into a trance to help him get back. Now, I wanted to see how he got in such a state and if he improved afterwards.

But right now…I was stuck standing with my hands tucked behind my back, looking at Warlord Zeelius. He was pacing around a holographic map of the war. The new machine was created from some of the greatest alchemic minds that the Aldmeri Dominion had at the moment. It showed all friendly forces as green, all civilians as white, all Daedric forces as yellow, and all Aedric forces as red. Right now, there was plenty of white gathered around the world, but there was almost as much red. The green and yellow forces were few and stretched thin…with Argonia as one giant empty spot. Our land was not hospitable for war so…we had a bunch of white on their way to our land.

I looked up at Warlord Zeelius. I did not know exactly what he thought about that. Was it his plan to allow refugees into our country, or was it the Queen's? Since the Queen was Warlord's Zeelius's mother, she had enough control over his military. That was the way the hierarchy of Argonia worked. The Queen's husband or son was the Warlord. Since her husband was killed during a surprise blood-raged Khajiit, her son was named the Warlord. I was only a hatchling when that happened. That was when I was sent to the Dark Brotherhood for training.

I continued to stand to the back of the round dark room, only illuminated by the single giant Welkynd cluster hanging above our heads. The room was silent as we waited for our orders. Zeelius was still just standing over the hologram, looking for something. I don't know what it was, but his blood-red eyes were scanning the image with full intensity.

"There!" His scratchy voice ripped through the air. He pointed half a claw at the mystical image of the refugees coming into Argonia. "They are taking the Southern Gideon route. If they continue through that route they will arrive in Gideon within the hour. Shadow Squad!" He looked up at me, which made me lock my arms behind my body. "Go to Gideon and deal with them."

I nodded. "Yes, Warlord. What orders do you have for the specifics on _how_ to deal with them?"

He opened to reply, but it was the Queen's voice that rung through the air. "Situate them into the refugee camp and see about turning the older ones into a formidable resistance force." She narrowed her eyes to me. "What did you believe your orders were, Shadowscale Nexa?"

I held my tongue for a second and allowed my breath to catch up to me. "I was curious if I had to detain certain individuals. Are we still imprisoning Khajiits on sight?"

The room fell into a deep uncomfortable silence. Zeelius pushed off the table and said, "Still your tongue, Shadowscale. Our history with Khajiits will not interfere with this war. Gods…I wished a few of those blood-crazy Khajiits still lived. Imagine how useful they'd be in this war."

"Sir, there is a blood-crazy Khajiit out there." One of the shadowwraiths replied.

Warlord Zeelius and the rest of the room grew silent. He glared up at the shadowwraith and said, "And how would you know this, Shadowwraith Tar-Meena?"

She bowed her head. "There was a time before the war started that a Khajiit with red eyes and a nasty temper was recorded in the Pre-Battlemage Training Program. His condition was discovered during a training exercise and he was briefly taken to a medical ward for analysis. During that time, Sister Marie Palielle shared with me the data she had on the subject. She wanted to know if some sort of Daedra was known for creating such conditions. I assured her that no such thing existed but she should try throwing holy water in his face to release whatever evil holds it."

I growled under my breath. I had no idea that Tar-Meena was shared the information of Vatu's experience. I thought I covered that incident up, but I guess I was wrong. I only hoped that she didn't remember his name.

"Do you know this Khajiit's name?" Warlord seemed wary about asking. His knuckles were pale pink with all the pressure he was building. His face looked even darker red than it did a moment ago. I could tell that he was upset. My father never liked Khajiits, not since his father was killed by one. In fact, my father lost half of his index claw thrusting his claw through an armored Khajiit bandit. It was his reminder of how much he wanted to kill them.

I looked over at Tar-Meena, who looked lost. She bowed her head. "All I know is that he is a battlemage…how many of those could there be?" She looked over at me and her eyes narrowed. "I also know that Shadowscale Nexa met this individual personally. She was assigned as his bodyguard during the uncertain moments of his condition."

The entire room's attention settled on me. Queen Ali-jinasha rose from her throne and walked a few steps toward me. "You knew this Khajiit?"

I nodded. What else could I do?

Warlord Zeelius's eyes narrowed. "The two Khajiits we captured when you arrived from the Arcane University. They were with a battlemage. Did you arrive here with a blood-raged Khajiit? Was that older on the blood-rager? Or was it the little cub?"

I shook my head. "No, it was neither. The little cub was the blood-rager's sister. The actual blood-rager was not at the University when we were attacked. He was elsewhere and I have not seen him since. From what I heard from the after-battle reports, his unit was attacked by Aedra and a powerful Khajiit was killed in action."

Warlord Zeelius's eyes averted down. I could not tell how the news hit him but it didn't matter. He brushed his cape off his shoulders and turned around. "Your new orders, Shadow Squad. Once you settle the refugees in…I want you to find this unit. If that Khajiit still exists…protect it until the end of the war. Once the war is over…slit its throat."

Both the Queen and Warlord Zeelius looked over at me. They were watching for my reaction. If only they knew how badly it hurt to hear those orders. Would I do it? Could I betray a friend like that? I don't think that I could but if I wanted to get close to him…I had to lie at least.

I bowed down to my father and said, "As you wish, Warlord."

He nodded respectfully back at me. "If you keep this up, Shadowscale, your previous rank will be restored and you will earn your right to be called my daughter again."

I looked him in the eye as evenly as I could. I did not flinch, I did not waiver. I did allow myself to smile. He was dead to me and I think he knew that. Maybe he was just too prideful to believe that I would hate him. He allowed me to be tortured for who knows how long. There was no way that being called his daughter would have any sway over me. But…I was an Argonian, this was my land, and I would honor the assignments that I would be given. Right now, that assignment was protecting my friend. The moment that assignment goes from protection to assassination…I don't know what I will do, but killing my friend won't be an option.

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><p><strong>Cearbhail:<strong>_ Ok, that was the Introductory chapter to the Rouge Shadowscale. Let me know what you think of it._


	70. Preview Chapter: The Shoutmen

**Cearbhail:**_ Preview Chapter. Ok, This just made its way in my head and I thought... oh, this is too good to just pass up. I might not make this a real story but for right now... it's in there. So.. if you guys like this preview, just give me a Shout out... (yeah) and I'll see about making this a reality. Ok?_

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><p>"Did you hear? The Graybeard was found dead this morning…"<p>

That was the news that brought me up to High Hrothgar. Why else would an Imperial wearing a bloodstained facemask and a full-body coat with no personality come up to such a high place?

Well, unfortunately, once I reached the top, I had to jump down. I had to retrace all his steps. But, before I had to do that, I had to look for clues. I was once a Shoutman myself…well, ok I still was. Once a Shoutman, always a Shoutman, my dad used to say back when we were looked upon with valor and respect. Now look at us…

One of us is dead. Why would someone kill an old man like the Graybeard anyway? The man was a hero, one of the original Shoutmen. He got tired of killing for the Aldmeri Dominion and retired to live the rest of his days like the rest of the older generation. Now…he's the third one dead this month. Someone is after us… and they're killing them…with _Shouts_…

…

That's our thing. That's why _we're_ the Shoutmen. We were the generation that followed our great immortal leader…the Dovahkiin. Yeah, funny story about that. Some of the mages at the College of Winterhold got ahold of him for some testing of his magical ability to Shout. Well, after some floating orb thingy went all haywire…his skin kinda melted off. He turned into this more super-powered being with an obnoxious Breton-like knowledge and proper behavior with bright glowing blue skin and…here's the sick part…he didn't wear any pants…

Anyway, enough about the backstory. I was standing at the crest of High Hrothgar, looking at an ash imprint of what appeared to a Graybeard…not our Graybeard, an actual Graybeard, burned into the ground. He must have gotten in the killer's way to kill our friend. Everyone else was putting this down as suicide, but I knew better. Why would an old man who was going to die in a year most likely throw himself off a cliff? I don't know, but I do know this…too many of us were dead already…and all looked like suicide attempts.

There was one other thing that set all this murders apart. The way they die. One had his skin ripped to shreds, a tribute to the Shout Unrelenting Force. Another old Orc was found with his head fused inside the wall. The guy was so-named Ethereal. He was our invisible can't-touch-this guy. Well now, his head was fused with the inside of a pub with large amounts of alcohol found in his blood. He was ridden off as getting too drunk and trying to walk through the wall like he was known for in his youth. Well now…I guess his powers just began to fade with old age and boos on the brain? No, not Ethereal. For starters…he was a monk. He didn't drink. So for him to just lose his head in a wall meant that someone else who could become ethereal had to put his head in the wall as well. But who could do that? Most of us could only learn one or two Shouts. Heck, I…

We'll get to that later.

Ok…some of us…didn't…well…

FINE! I don't know any Shouts! OK! YOU happy now?

Jeez, I was always a fan of the Shoutmen, what made them special were just how awesome they were at saving all of Tamriel day after day. They were our version of heroes. My supreme detective ability plus mastery of every weapon and martial art…as well as the psychological arts is what got me in with the Shoutmen. I made it by just imitating Shouts…by shooting magicka out of my mouth. They were weaker and they exhausted me…sometimes I would burn my lips or even catch my mask on fire…but it worked. I only had to appear to be able to Shout, my fellow Shoutmen would always say to me.

I shook my head and looked down at the crime scene. Two Stormcloak soldiers stood beside me, pen and paper looking at the crime scene with indifferent eyes.

The male Stormcloak shook his head. "Ok, crazy Shoutman goes well…crazy, Shouts his buddy over here, comes back to Nirn, sees what he does, and jumps off the cliff."

The female Stormcloak nods. She pulled her helmet back to her face and smiled. "Looks like our buddy over here…" She slid her helmet over her face and crossed her arms. "just couldn't take the heat of being Shouted at.."

I reached over and backslapped her across her head. "Every time. Every time we go to these things you just have to say some sort of stupid pun…you know that? It's rude…he's dead. Respect it." I said as I walked past her and up to the melted pile of what appeared to be a charred body.

I inspected the aura of energy that surrounded the mist of charred remains. Yeah, it was a Shout alright. I looked off to my left, where the Graybeard threw himself off the cliff. I noticed something strange and slowly made my way up to the cliff. I looked down at the rock and noticed the scuff marks that pulled away from the rock. It looked like tiny razors had worked away at the rock. The Shout, Unrelenting Force, was at work here. Graybeard didn't throw himself off…he was Shouted off.

I stood up and looked at the Stormcloaks. "This was no suicide. This…" I pointed at the rock beneath me, "is residue from Unrelenting Force. No…Graybeard was killed, just like all the others. The other guy must have walked in as it happened and met a Fire Breath. No witnesses to report what happened. It only worked out that it appeared that Graybeard killed his friend and then jumped off the cliff."

The male Stormcloak crossed his arms. "But…who would be killing the Shoutmen? They are heroes to all of Skyrim."

I shook my head. "I don't know, but I do know this. No one messes with the Shoutmen. What troubles me is this. Only the Shoutmen know how to Shout. So…if these old guys are dying by Shouts… Who Shouts…the Shoutmen?"

I turned around and looked over the edge. It was a long way to fall but I had to get a good idea of where Graybeard's body landed. I needed to see if enough of his body survived to be inspected for evidence. He was killed for a reason. No one would just walk up the 7,000 stairs just to kill a very old man who would die soon anyway. Nothing here made sense.

"Well…you weren't supposed to suspect murder. You were supposed to just admit that your friend went crazy as we'd have a reason."

"A reason for what?" I asked as I peered down the bottom of the mountain. I think I could see a body down there.

"A reason for this." Then a hand planted itself on my back and I felt a shove hit me.

The force of the kick knocked me off the cliff and suddenly, the wind took me. I turned myself around and glanced up at the face of the Stormcloak as he waved to me.

"Goodbye, Bloodstain. Soon enough, you'll live to your name." He called as his face disappeared from view.

I snapped myself around and smiled through my mask. My hunch was right. Purposely putting myself so close to the cliff that a single shove would throw me off worked out. The Stormcloaks, who were our allies before, were now allied against us. Someone had paid them off to assist in killing us off. Either that or High King Stormcloak was behind all the murders. He knew how to Shout. I had to tread carefully now. Everyone would think that I would be dead. Well, that's what a mask is for….isn't it? Take it off and no one knows who you are until you put it back on.

Well, over the time of thinking of how I should land this little fall was easy. I just continued to look at the snowy band and prepared to 'Shout'. I knew just the spell here that would do the trick. I created it myself so that I could become ethereal. I brought my hand up to my mouth and made a ring with my fingers. I actually did have to say the shouting words, but it was the combination of my words and the magicka in my hands that made the Shout work.

"_Feim Zii Gron_…" I Shouted out. Blue mist flew out of my ringed fingers and enveloped my falling body. I hit the ground with no sound, no snow thrown up, and no footprints. I looked off to my left and saw Graybeard…sitting on the ground, holding his broken leg, and a blood stain on his stomach.

"Bloodstain…you came for me." His old voice seemed too distant and weary. His eyes were glazing over. I had to hurry.

I rushed up to him and started feeding Restoration magic in his wound. "Graybeard, you'll be ok. Just tell me: who did this? Who is killing the Shoutmen?"

His twisted smile that he was famous for reared up. "It was…" Then…his head snapped back, his voice nothing but a whisper. I looked at his forehead to see a hole right in the center of his head. A char mark? From a lightning wad? How did I not see that earlier?

The answer was obvious. Because someone had just shot it. Still ethereal, I turned myself around to see what might have caused it. I didn't see anything. Whoever had just fired that off did it from far away and with precision aim. Damn it! Someone was toying with me. Why? Why not just kill me when they had the chance? Oh…I was still ethereal. I had to hold this spell up for as long as I could, if I wanted to live long enough to solve this murder.

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><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>Making fun out of the Watchmen-Jutsu... activate! Oh and did anyone else catch the CSI sunglasses murder pun thing? Yeah, thought I'd try one out._


	71. Bonus Chapter: Aftermath

**Cearbhail:**_ Bonus Chapter: aftermath. Ok, it's a week after the battle. Everyone is back at Cloud Ruler Temple and it's just, you know...closure for the moment. Everything is still up in the air, but it's not the unconclusive bullcrap that i almost let myself get away with. Nuh-uh. Not with how Mass Effect Fucked with us. this story has a real ending and this is halfway it._

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><p>-Nisha-<p>

"I cannot believe you're gone. I just found you again, and now I'll never get to see you again. It's…it's just not fair!"

I looked down at the grave, a name that would forever be etched in my head.

_Here lies Vatu … no last name given._

_Born … Full Secunda New Masser, died New Secunda Waxing Masser._

_Lived a good life, I guess. Died young…fell in love with an Argonian. Loved by that Argonian in return, I think. I know a Bosmer loved him up until he died then attempted to kill herself. Thank, Vatu. You're so popular that girls try to kill themselves around you. I'm tired of carving all this in with a crappy dagger that he left me with. I will never forgive you for making me do this. And neither will Primrose, or Davilia, or Erandur, or Hans, or Sister Marie, or Mom, or…that guy who I'm pointing at._

_Love/hate…somewhat respect, but totally still hate you,_

_Nisha.._

I couldn't stop the wave of tears that started flowing down my cheeks. I didn't come in time. He was sick and now…he'd never get better. What was I supposed to do now? Where was I supposed to go? I guess I would just have to stay with Primrose for now on. Either that or I could hang around Davilia and Erandur…who were inseparable now. It made me sick to my furballs just listening to them. It made me hack up furballs every time I say them kiss. I was tired of being around them already. Screw it; I'd rather stick around the Bosmer who loved my brother.

"Nisha, I'm right here." My annoying brother called from the doorway.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm just preparing for when you do die…_again_!" I turned to look back at him. "What is it, four times now?"

"Nisha, I'm not dying anymore." Vatu called out, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"And I hope to someday join you in our Pridelands, dear brother." I yelled out, throwing my head back to the tombstone, eyes closed and my fingers interlocked in a praying position.

I turned around and saw Vatu shaking his head, walking away.

I only chuckled as I reached down at patted the tombstone. "Don't worry, brother. I will be back soon. I won't leave _you_, behind. Unlike you, who left _me_ behind."

I bowed to the tombstone and turned to leave. "Now, I just need to bow to Uncle J'skar."

_Here lies J'skar … Seriously, Khajiit don't have last names.._

_Born, not sure, died New Secunda Waxing Masser.._

_What can this one say? J'skar died a true Khajiiti warrior. He was a great uncle and he kept this one safe from all enemies. Died in a massive wave of burning oil washed over his body. Now, he's a walking skeleton with black robes. Ironic, this one thinks… He fought necromancers and was resurrected by them._

_Love him with all this one's heart,_

_Nisha._

-Davilia-

The bed felt nice and warm. Erandur's hair was soft and so comfortable in my hands. The look on his face was so precious. I was glad that we could have this time together. We were waiting on Hans to give us our orders, which he was getting them as we spoke from the Arch-Mage.

Erandur was sleeping so soundly, more soundly than I ever remember seeing him when I was watching from afar. If it wasn't for Vatu or Erandur, I would probably have stayed in my books and never actively talked to anyone. Maybe I wouldn't have even come here with the others. I might have died back at the Mages Guild with everyone else.

Looking at Erandur's peaceful face buried in the pillow next to me, I felt as ease. It was at times like this that someone burst through the doors, trying to kill us. Although, I was a little upset that Erandur was not making any moves on me yet, I could understand his old sense of chivalry. He didn't want to take me until we were married to each other. Right now, I wouldn't care if took me this very second. Maybe if I kissed him awake I'd arouse some sort of primal instinct that only exists in his half-asleep state of mind. It wasn't that I was desperate to join with him, but I just felt like I was ready. Finally ready to let go of that unpleasant experience in the cave that left me with uncertain nightmares. Maybe if I shared that with Erandur, he'd let me experience true bliss with him?

-Hans-

"So, we're organizing with the Argonian Regality?" I asked the Arch-Mage as she started to sit down at the table.

I glanced down at her stomach. It was almost time for that ton-sized baby to drop out, I was almost sure of it. "Hans…eyes up here." She called me by snapping her fingers.

"Sorry, I was just wondering it if was safe for you to be out here."

She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "I am still a week early. Anyway, yes, the Queen of Black Marsh contacted me. She's taking in refugees as we speak and she's tasked a Shadow Squad to your unit. We're coordinating with resistances from all around Tamriel to find this underground ruin in Elsweyr. The rest of Tamriel's armies will attack with all the force that they have at the Aedra in hopes of drawing their attention off of us while we do this. This is your show, BC Hans. Do not let us down."

I nodded. "Fair enough, Arch-Mage. But what are you going to do?"

She shrugged. "I will assemble what is left of the Mages Guild but…I fear that we are broken. The guild may not recover from this. I fear the Empire may not recover from this."

I smiled as reassuringly as I could. "Ma'am, as long as I am alive, the guild will never die."

Suddenly, her eyes glazed over. _"The time of the Mages Guild is over, the Imperial Battlemages will be destroyed. The lives of everyone in this room will end before the war is over. After our deaths, the world shall know a unified government. Unified by Elves, this world will know true tyranny. For centuries, every land will be united in fear and undying loyalty to a powerful enemy with no end."_

Her eyes unglazed over. "What? What did I say?" She said as she looked upon my shocked face.

I only shrugged. "Not sure. You said that tomorrow will rain or something." What could I tell her? That the time of the guild was over and that we were all going to be killed by the end of the war? No, I couldn't tell her that. I couldn't worry her right now. I had to keep her calm and safe until she at least gave birth. If she learned of what she just said, she would go out and get herself killed trying to figure out what she meant by what she said.

"Uh…sir…does any of that include us?"

I turned around to see Erandur and Davilia walking in the room. I sighed. "Were you here for the full weather report while inside the room?"

Erandur looked at Davilia. "She was…"

Poor Davilia. I couldn't tell her the truth either. Her big soft red eyes seemed to burn through me, her face as much in shock as the expression in her eyes. Jeez, it was like looking at my daughter when she was that age. But, if she was here and she heard everything from the Arch-Mage, I couldn't just sit here and lie to her if she already knew the truth. Knowing would be easier on her mind than suspecting that it might not happen.

So, I offered a shrug instead. "I cannot say for certain if she will be rained upon. But I'd bring an umbrella just in case it comes to pass."

Davilia only whimpered and threw herself in Erandur's arms. He started to pull her out of the room, whispering that he would keep her safe. I only groaned as I turned around and looked at the now sullen face of the Arch-Mage.

"Rain, huh? Didn't know that Davilia hated rain so much." She said with a flat tone, catching onto my slight meaning.

I shrugged. "You see, back when she was in training, she was man-handled in a musty cave that dripped water on her head while a Redguard started to slide his hands…" I started to imitate what I thought occurred in the cave in the hopes that I would gross out the Arch-Mage from continuing this conversation.

"Ok, ok…shut it. You don't share stuff like that." Arch-Mage said, her face bright pink and flushing.

I smiled. Good, it worked.

-Primrose-

Vatu's fur felt so nice. It was starting to grow back now. I should know, since I spent every moment I could trying to heal the rest of his wounds. It's been nearly a week now and we still haven't had a talk about…our feelings. I mean, I told him already when we were dreaming of each other, but since we got back to our bodies, I just felt so…shy about what he might answer with so I did not pursue an answer. He seemed just fine with not answering either. But he was characteristically stoic and silent, as I've come to understand his nervous habits.

Which was why I spent as much of my time healing his wounds. It gave me a reason to be near him, to touch him, to share energy with him, to connect spiritually with him. He didn't exactly show that he cared whether or not that I touched him, but I couldn't tell for certain if he was just using my healing abilities to recover his body to full capabilities, or if he actually liked me in some sort of way. He must know that I love him, so did he care enough to let me near him, or was he so disgusted that he couldn't look at me but refused healing when he saw it?

Rubbing my hands in his fur again, I felt a lump where a thick blood clot was still formed from being stabbed by an Aedra sword. I wanted every inch inspected and healed, if not only to spend as much time with him as possible. So, I paused by the blood clot and touched it as gently as I could.

"Vatu, I found a blood clot back here. I think I should dissolve it and heal the blood vessels back here. Might take me a good hour." I said as I looked from his back up at him.

He only chuckled lightly. "I know you could heal that in a minute if you wanted."

That smile of his… I just couldn't tell if it was "I'm creeped out, stop touching me" smile, or if it was "you're so cute because you're trying to spend time with me" smile.

I decided to shrug and touched his back again. "I could…if I wanted to fetch you back from beyond Oblivion again…I might forget a piece of clotted blood, which might end up in your heart, which could block all the arteries. You never know; I have to be careful. Your body is still a little weak and my energy might be nice and pure, but your body may in fact register it as an attack. I have to take it slowly so that your primal instinct to ward away magic takes over."

Vatu only chuckled. "Right. Take as much time as you want, Rose."

I tried to chuckle back and look him in the eye, but he still wasn't looking at me. "So, Vatu…"

"Yes…" He started to look over at me.

"I was wondering, exactly…how do you…I don't know…feel…" I stopped short and went back to focusing on his wound. "Nevermind, it doesn't really matter. Healing you is what matters."

I was fighting back tears and my vision was growing blurry as I tried to do just that. I still couldn't ask Vatu what he really felt about me. I looked back up at him to see that he was no longer relaxing.

"Rose…" He began. His voice sounded soft but underneath it seemed to be so filled with sadness. I already knew what he was going to say.

"No, it's ok. I swear, you don't need to say anything at all." I started, my eyes starting to leak as I tried to fight back my growing tears.

Vatu's tail twitched and he looked away. "Why haven't you forced me?"

I stopped my hands. "Forced you? Like use my animal controlling voice on you? No…that's wrong…it's manipulation. I feel bad when I summon animals to be killed so I can eat for another day. Imagine making someone else fall in love with me…it's just…wrong."

Vatu only purred in response. "You are very nice, Rose." He looked down. "Just…give me time to think. This is not as simple as you think. I like you, but I like someone else as well. I won't ask you to keep holding on. I am not keeping you on any leash. I won't be that guy who keeps multiple love interests walking after him. And these healing sessions…I feel like I don't deserve them anymore than I deserve your feelings."

My eyes openly leaked out as I started to pull my hands back to wipe the tears away. So, I was right. He might like me but he liked someone else as well. I could handle that, for now. I took a deep breath. "Regardless, I want to make sure your body is back to normal. This war needs you…I need you, I'm sure this other girl needs you too. So, I will stick by you until you make up your mind." I smiled up at him and saw him looking down at me smiling as well.

"And I swear that I will let you know when I decide. Until then, please do not try too hard to win me over." He purred as he brushed my hair away from my eyes.

Just that act alone made my heart feel a little better, and Vatu knew it. Was he toying with me or was he trying to make me feel better? I wasn't sure, just like how I wasn't sure about anything when it involved him, but I didn't care at the second. I was happy enough as it was.

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><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>Ok, so not a perfect ending. I just wanted to show you that Vatu was alive, Primrose is with him, he is unsure about it, and that Davilia is still with Erandur. Next book will tie any loose ends that this bonus chapter began. Next book begins one day after these scenes._


	72. Preview Chapter: The Chronicles of Lydia

**Cearbhail:**_ A short preview of one of my more longer new stories... well, it's below. The new story is basically going to be a romantic parody with a slice of life complex that will include many characters who come in and out of his life, all the adventures he goes on...with his Housecarl going alongside him. Or, leaving her at their home, where she will wait and just see him come back with some story about how he did this... or that.. you know. It's a comedy mostly so don't expect like the Khajiit Battlemage type of dark bloodshed. It's more like well Lucky Star meets Toradora in Skyrim._

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><p>Preview Chapter: The Chronicles of the Dragonborn's Servant: Lydia.<p>

_Dear journal,_

_Ok, so today is the day. I have to look strong, look beautiful, and keep a stoic face. Today, I am to meet my Thane. The Nord who saved Whiterun from the Dragon. It is said that he is Dragonborn…so I have to keep my cool. I heard he killed the Dragon with little effort. Why would he need a woman like me to follow him around? I guess I should be honored, but I can't help but feel a little…pressured to be the servant and housemate to the great Dragonborn man. From what I've heard of him, his face was carved from the Gods. I can only hope that I appear un-wanting of any offer he gives me. I have to bring my family honor, yes, but…am I ready for anything like that?_

_I may be 24, but even though that makes me too old to be married by society's standards, which is why I was chosen for this role, I can't help but feel that this may…become something. I know, I know…I don't even know the guy yet and he'll probably be this strong, buff, handsome, humble, maybe a little snobbish now that he found out he's this world's savor but…come on! What could he possibly see in a tiny woman like me? I only have one answer: I have to be gruff, strong-looking, and more importantly, I have to be completely rude to anything he says. Well, here we go!_

I exhaled as I reached for the doorknob. I was warned ahead of time that I had to do this. I had to officially present myself to my Thane. I turned away from the doorknob and looked over at the mirror again. I looked at my full-body image in the mirror. Ok, time to do my checklist again. Armor, check. I could not present myself without completely shiny yet worn-in armor. He wouldn't take new armor seriously, but he would also see dinged and scarred armor or even dirty armor as a lack of discipline for my gear. I ran my fingers through my hair, loving the black color that I had managed to maintain the past few years. I was sure I could use this hair to my advantage if I decided to woo him. My eyes were as sharp as they could be too. I would pierce into his soul.

As I reached for the doorknob again, I paused. What if…what if he didn't like me? What if I wasn't good enough for him to accept me as his Housecarl? I mean, my uncle told me that I should be honored that he chose me for this role…that and that if I could get him to like me enough that he might grow fond of me, but I just didn't know if I was good enough. My pale skin might be enough for him to not be attracted to me. After all, we're Nords. We live outside, we fight outside, we are active and that activity only exists outside. My pale skin looks like I spend all my time inside, doing nothing. That image that could easily sink into his mind could be detrimental to him accepting me.

I cleared my head as I twisted the doorknob. I had to do this. I had to face him. He was like an enemy that I had to conquer. That was how I had to face this. I had to face this with my sword arm grasping his soul like it was mine and dominating it…but I had to be his servant so…I guess I needed to be a little docile and accepting of his orders? Jeez, how was I supposed to appear dedicated, strong, flexible, and yet…commendable?

I could only sigh and close my eyes as I opened the door and left my room. This castle had been my home for the past months, preparing me to be a guard for this town, but now I guess that training was going to keeping the great Dragonborn alive instead.

I walked across the wooden floors, letting my feet stomp lightly on the floor; showing a presence to my step and yet enough subtly that I could be light on my feet in case it was needed. I gently flowed with speed and authority into the dining area, looking at my little cousin and my uncle as they sat down to their plates of meat. Yes, my uncle was Jarl Balgruuf. I am a Battle-Born.

My eyes drifted from Uncle Balgruuf and over to the Nord who patiently waited in his seat. He glanced up at me and nodded a welcome. I felt my heart come to a stop. His face did look like it was chiseled from the stone of the Gods..

My uncle nodded to me. "Lydia, this is…"

I bowed my head. "Welcome to Dragonsreach, Dragonborn. I am your new Housecarl, your servant, and your house keeper." I dared to look up at him, not only seeing him look confused, but a little shaken by my quick and high pitched introduction. I admit; I was so nervous that my voice cracked on my introduction. Great…I think I just ruined any first impression I could have given to him.

Both the Dragonborn and my uncle shared eyes for a second and then they both burst out laughing. Uncle looked over at the Dragonborn and said, "Lydia…this isn't the Dragonborn. This is your old childhood friend, Hadvar. He's here to discuss getting our town ready for the Stormcloaks that are getting ready to breathe down our doorway."

I only blushed, which showed on my completely pale face. Hadvar smiled back at me and laughed as he saw my face. "Hello, Lydia. It's been a while. I almost didn't recognize you."

I only nodded to him, finally being able to relax a bit. "Yeah, you sure have changed too. If I had not been so nervous about meeting the Dragonborn, I might have noticed that it was you sitting there."

"Excuse me." A voice seemed to boom from behind me.

I turned around and saw a skinny Nord standing behind me. He looked like he had never lifted a weight in his life. I moved aside and said, "Welcome to Dragonsreach. Do you need to talk to the Jarl or something?" I poked him in the arm and said, "Man, you sure look depleted. Do you require some meat for those skinny things you call arms?"

My uncle face-palmed and said, "Lydia…that is the Dragonborn."

I turned back to the Dragonborn, almost shocked. I held my face as impassive as I could but my heart had practically stopped. I bowed to him and said, "Honored Thane, my name is Lydia and I have been selected to be your Housecarl. If you wish to be presented with a test of my skill and knowledge of any sort, I am prepared to show you…"

He shrugged and walked past me. "Nah. You're fine, just relax." He paused by the table and said, "But that meat does sound good now that you mention it. Think I'll have a piece, if that's ok with you, Jarl Balgruuf."

Balgruuf only nodded. "This feast is for you, Dragonborn. Please help yourself."

I only stood there. All that preparation I did…for months… was just wasted. I did not get to show him how lucky he was to have me as his Housecarl. It seemed like he didn't even care in the slightest. I almost did not want to take that sitting down. No Nord would ever take that sitting down. Struggling, I clenched my fist and stood my ground. I looked over at my uncle, who had noticed my clenched fist. He shook his head very discreetly at me; telling me to keep calm and just accept it as it was. I forced my fist to unclench. He was right, I was accepted. This was the only thing that mattered.

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><p><em><strong>Cearbhail: <strong>Very short intro, I know, but I did not want to make this a complicated introduction. The story will be long enough as it is with no real plot to ride it along, other than a character who will be apart of another book series. You'll notice her when you see that they run into a street urchin Khajiit. She does not have a name...yet...or at all I think. Anyway, you'll see what this story is about soon enough._


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